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SALEM  ATHEN^UM 


TWO  HUNDRED  AND  TEN  COPIES 

PRINTED  BY  THE  BERKELEY  PRESS 

FOR  THE  SALEM  ATHEN^UM 

SALEM,   MASSACHUSETTS 

MCMXVII 


THE 


SALEM  ATHENvEUM 


1810-1910 


BY 

JOSEPH  N.  ASHTON 


SALEM,  MASSACHUSETTS 
1917 


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COPYRIGHT,   1917  BY  THE  SALEM  ATHENtEUM 


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The  preparation  and  publication  of  this 
history  was  authorized  by  the  Proprietors 
of  the  Athena?um  at  the  Centennial  in  1910. 
The  work  of  preparation  was  completed 
soon  after,  but  circumstances  have  deferred 
its  publication  to  the  present  time. 

J.  N.  A. 


SSiSv'G 


SALEM  ATHENtEUM 


The  Salem  Athenaeum  was  founded  in  the  year 
Eighteen  Hundred  Ten.  Salem  was  then  a  town  of 
between  twelve  and  thirteen  thousand  inhabitants. 
Commercially  it  was  an  important  place,  widely 
known  for  its  extensive  trade.  Its  mariners  navi- 
gated the  seas  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe,  and 
its  ships,  returning,  sailed  into  the  harbor  bearing 
valuable  cargoes  from  every  continent;  in  1810  there 
were  one  hundred  and  sixty-six  foreign  entries  into 
its  port.  But  commercial  enterprise  and  adventure 
did  not  preclude  attention  to  intellectual  development 
and  the  acquisition  of  knowledge.  In  this  year  there 
were  twenty-two  Salem  boys  in  college,— thirteen 
at  Harvard,  four  at  Dartmouth,  three  at  Bowdoin, 
and  two  at  Brown.  In  the  seaport  town  itself  there 
were  two  libraries,  each  of  which  had  had  long  and 
distinctive  life, — the  Social  Library,  formed  in  1760, 
and  the  Philosophical  Library,  formed  in  1781. 

It  was  as  successor  to  these  two  libraries  that  the 
Athenaeum  came  into  being.  The  collections  of 
these  societies  originating  in  Colonial  and  Revolu- 
tionary days  and  the  interest  in  learning  and  litera- 
ture they  had  fostered,  constituted  the  basis  upon 
which  the  Athenaeum  was  established.  Their  tra- 
ditions were  inherited  by  it,  and  in  it  their  ideals 
were  blended.  Moreover,  there  was  continuity  of 
personnel  as  well  as  of  property,  for  the  initiating 
founders  of  the  Athenaeum  were  for  the  most  part 


persons  who  had  been  active  in  promoting  the  earUer 
societies.  In  1810  the  early  hbraries  terminated  their 
individual  existences;  their  shares  were  bought  by 
the  Athenaeum  and  their  books  transferred  to  it. 

But  the  Salem  Athenaeum  was  not  merely  a  union 
of  the  Social  and  Philosophical  Libraries.  It  was  far 
more.  It  was  organized  with  nearly  twice  the  num- 
ber of  members  of  these  early  libraries  combined, 
and  with  about  three  times  their  funds  and  resources. 
The  Social  Library  had  thirty-nine  members  and  the 
Philosophical  twelve.  Eight  persons  were  members 
of  both  associations,  so  that  the  combined  constitu- 
ency of  these  earlier  societies  was  forty-three.  The 
number  of  original  proprietors  of  the  Athenaeum, 
however,  was  eighty-two.  And  in  material  matters 
also,  the  Athenaeum  was  in  marked  advance  over 
the  earlier  organizations.  For,  whereas  the  value  of 
the  libraries  of  the  earlier  societies  was  estimated  to  be 
twenty-five  hundred  dollars, —the  amount  paid  by  the 
Athenaeum  for  them, —the  property  of  the  Athenaeum 
at  the  time  of  its  foundation  was  more  than  three 
times  that  amount.  The  Athenaeum  was  thus  estab- 
lished on  a  scale  distinctly  larger  than  that  of  its  ante- 
cedents and  with  a  range  of  influence  much  wider. 

The  act  incorporating  the  Athenaeum  was  approved 
by  Governor  Gore,  March  6,  1810,  and  on  April  11 
of  that  year  the  first  meeting  of  the  Proprietors  was 
held.  At  this  meeting  it  was  voted  that  the  shares 
of  the  Athenaeum  "be  one  hundred  dollars",  and  also 
that  the  Athenaeum  "purchase  the  Philosophical 
Library  and  the  Social  Library  at  fifty  dollars  a 
share".  For  the  thirty-nine  shares  of  the  Social 
Library  the  sum  of  nineteen  hundred  and  fifty  dol- 
lars was  accordingly  paid,  and  six  hundred  dollars 

10 


for  the  twelve  shares  of  the  Philosophical  Library, 
a  total  of  twenty-five  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for 
the  two  libraries.  Payment  for  the  Athenaeum 
shares  was  made  in  two  instalments  of  fifty  dollars 
each,  the  first  due  May  23,  1810,  and  the  second 
August  23,  1810.  Eighty  persons  became  proprie- 
tors on  these  terms  and  two  others  later  by  the  single 
payment  of  the  entire  sum,  one  on  September  14, 
1810  and  the  other  on  November  27,  1810.  These 
eighty-two  original  proprietors  of  the  Athensum 
either  paid  in  cash  or,  by  the  transmission  of  their 
holdings  in  the  earlier  libraries,  were  accredited  with 
the  payment  of  the  sum  of  eight  thousand,  two  hun- 
dred dollars.  The  foundation  of  the  Athenaeum  was 
thus  greater  by  more  than  five  thousand  dollars  than 
the  assets  of  the  Social  and  Philosophical  Libraries 
combined. 

On  May  7,  1810,  the  Trustees  appointed  John  D. 
Treadwell,  Joseph  Story,  and  John  Pickering,  Jr., 
a  committee  to  make  a  list  of  additional  books  which 
they  might  think  desirable  for  the  new  library  to 
procure.  The  committee  reported  at  a  meeting  on 
the  twenty-first  of  the  same  month  and  thereupon  it 
was  voted  that  ''the  List  of  Books  reported  by  the 
Committee,  amounting  to  about  six  hundred  pounds 
sterling  (including  all  costs  and  charges  and  insur- 
ance, except  freight  and  duties  in  the  United  States) 
be  purchased  in  London  for  the  Athenaeum."  This 
was  the  largest  single  purchase  of  books  ever  made 
by  the  Library.  In  addition  to  this  great  purchase 
abroad  books  were  bought  of  local  booksellers,  and 
furthermore  somewhat  over  two  hundred  dollars  in 
the  aggregate  were  allowed  to  proprietors  for  books 
taken  as  part  payment  for  shares.     In  this  latter  way 

11 


a  number  of  valuable  books  came  to  the  library.  At 
this  time  too  the  Athenaeum  received  many  books 
by  gift  and  some  valuable  papers  and  documents. 
The  most  important  of  these  perhaps  were  "the  two 
volumes  of  New  England  newspapers  and  other 
papers  of  the  years  1736-1739"  given  by  Judge  Sam- 
uel Sewall,  great  grandson  of  Judge  Samuel  Sewall, 
the  witchcraft  judge,  and  diarist,  and  the  donation  by 
Leverett  Saltonstall  of  ''one  of  the  DUPLICATES 
of  KING  CHARLES'  CHARTER  of  the  PROV- 
INCE of  the  MASSACHUSETTS  BAY  engrossed 
on  parchment." 

In  the  latter  part  of  May,  1810,  the  Trustees 
appointed  a  committee  "to  bargain  and  agree  with 
Messrs.  Hathorne  and  Gray  for  two  rooms  in  their 
Central  Building  on  Market  street  for  the  use  of  the 
Proprietors  of  the  Salem  Athenasum  for  the  term  of 
five  years' ' ;  and  in  the  following  month  two  of  their 
number  were  delegated  "to  employ  some  person  to 
make  Boxes  and  Cases  for  the  books  belonging  to  the 
Athenaeum,  and  also  to  procure  tables,  chairs  and 
other  necessary  articles  for  the  Library  and  Reading 
Room."  From  the  fact  that  some  of  the  early 
meetings  of  the  Trustees  are  recorded  as  having 
been  held  "at  the  Social  Library  Room  in  the 
Central  Building"  it  would  seem  not  unlikely  that 
the  Athenaeum  secured  for  itself  this  room  of  the 
Social  Library  and  another  adjoining  it;  but  unfor- 
tunately the  records  of  the  Athenaeum  do  not  contain 
evidence  to  establish  the  identity  of  the  rooms  used 
by  the  two  societies.  That  the  Athenaeum  did  take 
the  rooms  occupied  by  the  Social  Library  is  however 
asserted  in  statements  regarding  the  library  made  at 
a  much  later  date. 

12 


On  Wednesday,  July  11,  1810,  the  library  began 
its  active  life.  On  that  day  the  rooms  in  the  Cen- 
tral Building  on  Market  (now  Central)  street  which 
had  been  leased  by  the  Trustees  were  opened  for  the 
use  of  the  Proprietors  and  the  books  of  the  Athe- 
naeum became  available  for  readers  at  the  library 
and  for  circulation.  Thereafter  the  Proprietors  had 
access  to  rooms  and  books  every  day,  Sunday  excepted, 
*  'from  nine  in  the  morning  till  sunset' ' .  In  announc- 
ing the  opening  of  the  library  in  the  Salem  Gazette 
of  July  10,  1810,  it  is  stated  that  the  Librarian  would 
be  present  between  the  hours  of  two  and  three  in 
the  afternoon. 

The  books  ordered  from  abroad  in  May,  1810, 
came  in  due  season,  for  on  July  31,  1810,  Timothy 
Williams  was  paid  $1500  on  this  account  and  on 
September  4,  1810,  a  balance  of  $1140.  These  pur- 
chases must,  have  arrived  in  Salem  and  have  been  in 
use  by  Thanksgiving  time  of  that  year  as  the  Trus- 
tees voted  at  their  meeting  November  12,  1810, 
**that  the  trunks,  etc.,  in  which  the  books  were 
imported  from  London  be  disposed  of  to  Mr.  John 
Jenks  at  two  dollars  each." 

The  final  act  in  instituting  the  Athenaeum  was  the 
making  of  a  catalogue,  provision  for  preparing  and 
printing  which  was  made  soon  after  the  accession  of 
the  books  from  London.  Accordingly  in  1811  the 
first  catalogue  of  the  Athenaeum  appeared.  This  was 
a  pamphlet  of  seventy-two  pages  and  contained  2700 
titles,  series  of  volumes  such  as  encyclopedias,  tran- 
sactions, and  magazines,  each  counting  only  as  one 
title.  The  books  were  listed  chiefly  according  to 
author,  and  the  date  and  place  of  publication  of  each 
book   was   given.     A  feature  of  this  catalogue  was 

13 


the  leaving  of  a  blank  space  after  each  alphabetical 
group  for  the  insertion  of  additions.  A  copy  of  the 
catalogue  was  presented  to  each  proprietor. 

The  first  years  of  the  Athenaeum  were  marked  by 
prosperity  and  growth.  In  them  its  body  of  proprie- 
tors was  considerably  enlarged  and  its  store  of  books 
increased.  Between  1810  and  1824  fifteen  additional 
proprietors  were  admitted;  one  in  1811,  one  in  1813, 
three  in  1814,  three  in  1815,  four  in  1816,  one  in 
1819,  one  in  1821,  and  one  in  1823.  All  the  new 
members  paid  one  hundred  dollars  for  their  shares, 
except  the  one  admitted  in  1821  and  the  one  admit- 
ted in  1823.  Each  of  these  paid  one  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars.  The  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  these 
shares,  aggregating  sixteen  hundred  dollars  and  aver- 
aging over  one  hundred  dollars  a  year,  became 
directly  available  for  the  support  and  increase  of  the 
library  in  addition  to  the  amount  annually  derived 
from  assessments  for  that  purpose.  This  first  period 
in  the  history  of  the  Athenaeum,  it  should  be  noted, 
was  clearly  a  continuation  and  completion  of  the 
process  of  establishing  the  institution  rather  than 
an  expression  or  result  of  any  new  tendency  or 
condition. 

In  1815,  at  the  expiration  of  the  lease  of  the  rooms 
in  the  Central  Building,  the  library  was  removed  to 
Essex  Place,  a  building  on  Essex  street  at  the  head 
of  Central  street.  Here  it  remained  ten  years.  In 
1825  rooms  were  secured  over  the  Salem  Bank  in 
a  building  on  the  site  of  the  present  Downing  block 
on  Essex  street.  The  Athenaeum  remained  here  six- 
teen years,  and  in  1841  moved  to  Lawrence  Place, 
at  the  corner  of  Washington  and  Front  streets,  where 
it  continued  until  1857. 

14 


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The  records  of  the  early  meetings  of  the  Trustees  were  signed  by  all 
those  present.  A  rule  requiring  this  was  adopted  at  the  first  meeting, 
April  23,  1810,  and  was  repealed  at  the  seventh  meeting,  July  13,  1810. 


During  its  location  in  these  various  buildings,  or 
"places",  the  daily  conduct  of  the  library  was  simple 
in  the  extreme.  The  rooms  were  unlocked  by  the 
janitor  upon  his  arrival  in  the  morning  or  at  latest 
by  nine  o'clock,  the  stated  time  for  opening;  the 
librarian  was  on  duty  one  hour  during  the  day;  and 
soon  after  "sunset",  the  specified  time  for  closing, 
the  janitor  completed  the  routine  work  of  the  day 
by  making  the  rooms  fast  for  the  night.  At  first 
the  librarian's  hour  was  from  two  to  three  in  the 
afternoon,  but  from  1811  to  1857  it  was  from  twelve 
to  one.  The  proprietors  used  both  rooms  and  books 
freely,  leaving  on  the  Librarian's  desk  memoran- 
dums of  books  taken  or  returned  during  the  hours 
he  was  not  in  attendance.  To  be  discriminating 
and  critical  with  regard  to  books  was  not  a  requisite 
of  the  librarian ;  the  duties  of  the  office  were  chiefly 
clerical,  and  the  sakry  was  slight, — twenty-five  dol- 
lars a  year  from  1810  to  1843,  when  it  was  increased 
to  fifty  dollars.  The  position  was  not  infrequently 
held  by  young  men  recently  graduated  from  college. 
As  might  be  expected  in  these  circumstances  tenures 
were  short;  no  less  than  seventeen  appointments 
were  made  to  the  position  in  the  thirty  years  from 
1810  to  1840. 

In  the  course  of  years  some  slight  modifications 
were  made  in  the  by-laws  and  regulations.  Begin- 
ning with  1834  the  library  was  closed  between  the 
hours  of  one  and  two;  and  about  1840  a  rule  was 
made  that  "no  books  be  allowed  to  be  taken  from 
the  Library  except  in  the  presence  of  the  Librarian 
or  his  substitute."  An  attempt  was  made  to  enforce 
this  rule,  but  trustworthy  evidence  and  tradition 
make  it  clear  that  its  enforcement  was  only  tempo- 

15 


rary   and   short-lived   and   that   the   practice   above 
described  continued  to  prevail. 

Lax  though  this  method  of  conducting  the  library 
was,  it  nevertheless  seems  to  have  been  tolerably  sat- 
isfactory to  the  proprietors.  No  complaints  were 
entered,  nor  were  any  suggestions  of  change  made  by 
them.  Some  unhappy  incidents,  however,  resulted. 
In  1814,  and  again  in  1824,  valuable  plates  were  cut 
from  certain  volumes  in  the  library,  and  moreover 
from  time  to  time  in  the  course  of  years  books  were 
lost  sight  of  through  carelessness  and  inattention. 
Lists  of  such  missing  books  were  printed  in  1824 
and  in  1839,  the  latter  containing  one  hundred  and 
twelve  titles.  That  there  should  have  been  some 
untoward  happenings,  some  loss  of  books  under 
such  loose  management  is  not  surprising.  Indeed, 
the  surprising  thing  is  that  matters  went  as  well  as 
they  did  through  these  years  of  slight  supervision. 
Not  until  1857  was  the  library  placed  in  the  charge 
of  a  constant  attendant. 

The  first  dozen  years  or  more  of  the  life  of  the 
Athenaeum  had  been  a  period  of  growth  and  pros- 
perity. In  1827  a  second  period  began.  In  this 
year  the  institution  fell  into  debt  and  the  proprietors 
thereupon  authorized  the  Trustees  to  borrow  "any 
sum  of  money  not  exceeding  five  hundred  dollars." 
The  purchase  of  all  books,  excepting  the  regular 
periodical  journals,  was  suspended  and  the  Treasurer 
was  instructed  to  sell  shares  upon  which  assessments 
were  overdue.  In  the  next  year,  however,  it  became 
possible  to  resume  the  purchase  and  importation  of 
books;  but  the  period  of  growth  and  prosperity 
had  nevertheless  come  to  a  close  and  a  period  of 
depression  had  been  entered  upon. 
16 


Prior  to  1827,  three  shares  had  in  the  course  of 
seven  years  been  sold  for  assessments,  but  after  that 
date  such  sales  became  rather  frequent.  In  the  ten 
years  from  1827  to  1837  fifteen  shares  were  sold  at 
auction  for  arrears.  In  1835  the  Athenaeum  began 
to  buy  dehnquent  shares,  the  Proprietors  at  the  an- 
nual meeting  in  that  year  having  authorized  the 
Trustees  *'to  buy  at  their  discretion  any  share,  for 
sale,  of  the  Athensum  to  be  the  property  of  the 
Athenaeum".  On  August  27,  1835,  six  shares  were 
accordingly  bought  by  the  Corporation  for  from 
fourteen  dollars,  the  amount  due  for  assessments,  to 
seventeen  dollars.  These  were  inactive  from  1835 
to  1840.  In  the  latter  year  the  Treasurer  was  given 
permission  *'to  lease  shares  in  the  Library  at  three 
dollars  per  annum  to  any  who  will  pay  the  annual 
assessments".  Five  of  the  shares  held  in  the  treas- 
ury, however,  were  sold  subsequently  in  the  year, 
and  only  one  remained  to  be  so  leased.  In  1843  the 
Athenaeum  again  began  to  contract  the  number  of 
its  shares,  buying  in  that  year  four  upon  which  as- 
sessments had  become  overdue.  Sums  ranging  from 
eight  to  ten  and  a  half  dollars  were  paid  for  these. 
In  1847  four  more  shares  were  bought  for  assess- 
ments. At  length,  in  the  year  1850,  fifteen  shares 
so  acquired  were  held  in  the  treasury.  Those  were 
the  dark  days  of  the  Athenaeum,  and  it  was  realized 
that  they  were  such.  In  1848  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed "to  consider  what  means  may  be  suggested 
to  render  the  institution  more  generally  useful";  at 
the  annual  meeting  in  1849  the  Treasurer  was 
authorized  '*to  sell  the  shares  belonging  to  the  Cor- 
poration at  a  sum  not  less  than  ten  dollars" ;  and  at 
this  meeting  the   Proprietors  furthermore   created 

17 


the  possibility  of  subscribers  by  authorizing  the 
Trustees  "to  permit  non-proprietors  to  take  books 
from  the  Ubrary  as  proprietors,  subject  to  the  same 
conditions,  etc. ,  on  payment  of  six  dollars  per  annum 
or  three  dollars  for  six  months".  Happily  soon 
after  1850  the  skies  began  to  brighten  and  before 
1854  the  shareholders  became  nearly  as  numerous 
as  they  had  been  prior  to  1827. 

So  the  records  run ;  but  to  interpret  them  aright 
many  facts  which  do  not  appear  in  them  must  be 
borne  in  mind.  For  these  years,  far  from  being  a 
period  of  inaction,  were  really  years  of  increasing 
intellectual  activity  in  the  community;  new  interests 
received  attention,  the  field  of  activity  was  enlarged, 
and  new  associations  were  formed  to  embody  the 
development. 

In  1821  a  historical  association,  the  Essex  Histori- 
cal Society,  was  formed  in  Salem.  It  had  as  its 
object  *'the  collection  and  preservation  of  authentic 
memorials  relating  to  the  civil  history  of  the  county 
of  Essex,  and  the  eminent  men  who  had  resided 
within  its  limits;  also  all  facts  relating  to  its  natural 
history  and  topography".  The  founders  of  the 
society  were  for  the  most  part  members  of  the 
Athenaeum;  its  first  president  was  the  president  of 
the  Athensum,  and  its  successive  presidents  also 
were,  almost  invariably,  persons  who  at  the  same  time 
held  the  presidency  of  the  Athenaeum.  The  mem- 
bership of  this  society  was  always  comparatively 
small. 

An  organization  which  attracted  a  large  following, 

however,  was  the  Salem  Lyceum,  formed  in  1830. 

For  more  than  fifty  years  this  association  conducted 

in  Salem  series  of  lectures  on  the  widest  variety  of 

18 


subjects.  The  list  of  lectures,  both  general  and 
technical,  in  the  first  fifty  courses,  (1830-1879),  is 
indeed  impressive;  so  too  is  the  list  of  lecturers,— 
John  Quincy  Adams,  Horace  Mann,  Daniel  Web- 
ster, Edward  Everett,  Rufus  Choate,  Ralph  Waldo 
Emerson,  George  Bancroft,  Samuel  Gridley  Howe, 
Robert  C.  Winthrop,  Theodore  Parker,  Wendell 
Phillips,  Jared  Sparks,  Mark  Hopkins,  John  S. 
Dwight,  Charles  Sumner,  Asa  Gray,  Louis  Agassiz, 
John  B.  Gough,  Bayard  Taylor,  Henry  Ward 
Beecher,  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  Edward  Everett 
Hale,  Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson,  and  James 
Russell  Lowell.  There  were  about  twenty  lectures 
each  winter.  At  first  the  speakers  were  mostly  resi- 
dents of  Salem,  but  as  years  went  on  noted  men  from 
outside  preponderated.  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  was 
their  most  frequent  lecturer,  giving  thirty-three 
lectures  in  the  course  of  the  thirty-six  years  from 
1835  to  1871.  Other  frequent  lecturers  of  wide  re- 
pute were:  Wendell  Phillips  (16),  Theodore  Par- 
ker (12),  Louis  Agassiz  (10),  Henry  Ward  Beecher 
(8),  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  (7),  and  Horace  Mann 
(7).  John  Quincy  Adams  and  Daniel  Webster 
each  came  to  Salem  twice  to  address  the  Lyceum. 
-  At  first  the  Lyceum  held  its  lectures  in  churches, 
— in  the  Methodist  meeting-house  on  Sewall  street 
and  in  the  Universalist  meeting-house  on  Rust  street. 
This,  however,  was  merely  an  expedient,  for  within 
a  twelvemonth  after  its  inception  the  association  had 
erected  a  building  for  its  own  special  purpose,  a 
wooden  building  on  Church  street  a  few  doors  from 
Washington  street,  having  an  auditorium  in  the  form 
of  an  ancient  Roman  theatre.  The  hall  was  first 
used  January  20,  1831. 

19 


Soon  after  the  formation  of  the  Lyceum  another 
association  was  formed  in  Salem  embodying  still 
another  phase  of  intellectual  interest,  The  Essex 
County  Natural  History  Society.  This  society,  un- 
like the  two  just  mentioned,  was,  as  its  name  indi- 
cates, distinctly  a  county  organization.  Its  first 
president  was  a  resident  of  Danvers,  and  its  vice 
presidents  came  from  Ipswich  and  Bradford.  The 
society  was  formed  in  1833  and  was  incorporated  in 
1836.  Though  a  county  organization,  its  home 
was  in  Salem;  here  were  its  cabinet  and  its  library. 
In  1848  this  society  united  with  the  Essex  Historical 
Society  to  form  the  Essex  Institute. 

The  organization  of  these  societies,  devoted  to  kin- 
dred and  allied  purposes  and  appealing  largely  to  the 
same  constituency,  naturally  tended  to  diminish  the 
support  given  the  Athenaeum.  Added  to  this  was 
the  fact  that  the  initial  impulse  which  had  organized 
and  governed  the  Athenaeum  had  by  1827  nearly 
spent  itself.  Changes  had  inevitably  taken  place  in 
the  proprietary  body,  and  the  original  board  of  trus- 
tees had  become  seriously  invaded  by  death,  retire- 
ment, and  removal  from  town.  In  1823  Nathaniel 
Bowditch  had  removed  to  Boston  and  the  Athenaeum 
had  in  consequence  lost  his  "faithful  and  indefati- 
gable services  as  a  Trustee".  In  the  same  year  Dr. 
Benjamin  Lynde  Oliver  had  declined  re-election, 
and  Dr.  John  D.  Treadwell  in  the  following  year. 
In  1827  Nathaniel  Silsbee,  who  had  been  elected 
United  States  Senator  from  Massachusetts,  retired 
from  the  board,  as  did  also  Mr.  John  Pickering, 
who  had  moved  to  Boston.  There  now  remained  of 
the  original  board  in  service  only  Dr.  Edward  A. 
Holyoke,  the  President,  then  in  his  hundredth  year, 

20 


and  Hon.  Joseph  Story,  who  was  in  Washington  a 
portion  of  each  year  where  he  was  making  a  record 
of  distinction  on  the  Supreme  Bench  second  only  in 
the  annals  of  our  Government  to  that  of  the  great 
Chief  Justice  with  whom  he  was  so  long  associated. 
Dr.  Holyoke  died  in  1829;  and  in  1830  Justice  Story, 
having  in  the  preceding  year  been  appointed  pro- 
fessor of  law  at  Harvard  and  on  that  account  having 
moved  to  Cambridge,  retired  from  the  board  of  trus- 
tees of  the  AthensEum.  The  task  presented  to  the 
group  of  trustees  who  succeeded  the  original  board 
was^  a  difficult  one,  but  they  proved  themselves  faith- 
ful and  efficient.  Under  their  direction  the  library 
rendered  valuable  service.  The  decline  in  member- 
ship which  took  place  at  this  time  was  not  caused 
by  their  action  or  by  their  inaction,  neither  could 
it  have  been  prevented  by  them. 

Though  this  period  from  1827  to  4854  was  one  of 
financial  stress  and  of  somewhat  diminished  vigor, 
yet  it  was  during  this  time  that  the  Athenaeum  was 
nourishing  Hawthorne  from  its  literary  and  histori- 
cal lore,— Nathaniel  Hawthorne  was  a  proprietor 
from  1828  to  1839  and  again  from  1848  to  1850,— 
and  it  was  also  during  this  period  that  the  Athenae- 
um received  its  first  bequests. 

In  1838  the  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars  was  be- 
queathed to  the  Athenaeum  by  Nathaniel  Bowditch, 
LL.  D.,  F.  R.  S.,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  institu- 
tion and  a  member  of  the  original  board  of  trustees. 
The  gift  was  made  in  the  following  words: 

"It  is  well  known  that  the  valuable  library  of  the  celebrated  Dr. 
Richard  Kirwan,  was,  during  the  Revolutionary  war,  captured  in 
the  British  Channel,  on  its  way  to  Ireland,  by  a  Beverly  Privateer; 
and  that  by  the  liberal  and  enlightened  views  of  the  owners  of  the 
vessel,  the  library  thus  captured,  was  sold  at  a  very  low  rate;   and 

21 


in  this  manner  was  laid  the  foundation,  upon  which  have  been  suc- 
cessfully established  the  Philosophical  Library,  so  called,  and  the 
present  Salem  Athenaeum.  Thus,  in  early  life,  I  found  near  me  a 
better  collection  of  philosophical  and  scientific  books  than  could  be 
found  in  any  other  part  of  the  United  States  nearer  than  Philadel- 
phia. And  by  the  kindness  of  its  proprietors  I  was  permitted  freely 
to  take  books  from  that  library,  and  to  consult  and  study  them  at 
pleasure.  This  inestimable  advantage  has  made  me  deeply  a 
debtor  to  the  Athensum;  and  I  do  therefore  give  to  that  Institu- 
tion the  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars,  the  income  thereof  to  be  for- 
ever applied  to  the  promotion  of  its  objects,  and  the  extension  of 
its  usefulness." 

In  1838  also,  ten  proprietors  united  in  subscribing 
for  a  copy  of  Audubon's  Plates  of  "The  Birds  of 
America"  in  four  folio  volumes,  and  presented  this 
famous  work  to  the  Athenaeum. 

The  second  bequest  to  the  Athenaeum  came  in 
1846  by  the  will  of  Miss  Mehitabel  Higginson,  who 
made  the  following  designation:  — 

"I  give  and  bequeath  to  the  Proprietors  of  the  Salem  Athenaeum 
the  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars  ($500.00)  and  upon  the  express 
condition,  that  the  said  sum  shall  be  put  at  interest  and  that  said 
interest'shall  be  annually  appropriated  for  the  purchase  of  books  in 
the  French,  Italian,  German,  Spanish  and  other  foreign  Lan- 
guages, at  the  discretion  of  the  Trustees — always  giving  the  pre- 
ference to  such  works  of  History,  Voyages,  Travels,  and  works  of 
general  Literature  and  Science  as  will  be  most  useful  to  persons 
studying  those  Languages." 

In  1851  the  Athenaeum  received  its  third  bequest, 
one  thousand  dollars  by  the  will  of  Miss  Susan  [na] 
Burley.     This  was  granted  as  follows :  — 

'  'I  give  to  the  Salem  Athenaeum  one  thousand  dollars,  to  be  paid 
in  one  year  after  my  decease  by  my  executors  and  I  direct  that 
three  fifths  parts  of  said  sum  be  appropriated  by  the  Trustees  to  the 
purchase  of  rare  and  esteemed  Theological  works,  and  the  remain- 
ing two  fifths  parts  thereof  to  be  appropriated  to  the  purchase  of 
books  in  foreign  languages." 

22 


up  to  1850  the  Athenasum  had  pubHshed  five 
complete  catalogues.  The  first,  issued  in  1811,  con- 
tained 2700  titles,  while  the  fifth,  issued  in  1842, 
contained  nine  thousand.  In  the  interval  between 
the  publication  of  these,  others  were  printed,  in 
1818,  1826,  and  1834.  Beginning  in  1833  annual 
supplements  were  issued  for  nearly  a  score  of  years. 

The  catalogue  of  1842  is  particularly  interesting 
in  that  in  it  the  books  are  for  the  first  time  classified 
according  to  subject.  There  are  five  chief  divisions: 
(1)  Theology,  (2)  Jurisprudence,  Government 
and' Politics,  (3)  Sciences  and  Arts,  (4)  Belles  Let- 
tres,  and  (5  )  History.'  Theology  occupies  fifteen 
pages.  Jurisprudence  seven.  Sciences  and  Art  six- 
teen. Belles  Lettres  eighteen,  and  History  thirty-five. 
Seriousness  preponderates.  Fiction  is  a  sub-section 
under  Belles  Lettres  and  fills  six  pages.  The  great 
modern  out-put  of  novels,  it  should  be  recalled, 
was  at  that  time  just  beginning.  Small  though 
this  section  is,  it  nevertheless  includes  many  of  the 
then  recent  and  contemporary  writers, — Scott,  Dick- 
ens, Fenimore  Cooper,  and  Washington  Irving. 
Books  of  travel  were  then  very  much  in  popular 
favor,  and  accordingly  the  sub-section  under  History 
entitled  Voyages  and  Travel  is  large,  filling  ten  pages 
and  including  travels  in  Siberia,  Paraguay,  Nubia, 
Siam,  and  other  remote  lands.  The  spirit  of  the.  age 
is  furthermore  reflected  in  the  classifications.  Addi- 
son's Spectator,  for  instance,  is  listed  under  Moral 
Philosophy,  apparently  being  considered  more  im- 
portant then  as  a  book  of  precepts  than  as  a  work  of 
literature.  The  dominance  of  the  theological  idea 
of  design  in  the  thought  of  the  age  is  clearly  seen 
in  this  catalogue:  works  with  the  following  titles 
23 


are  found  under  Natural  Religion:— Buckland,  On 
Geology  and  Mineralogy;  Kirby,  History  and  In- 
stincts of  Insects,  (referred  to  by  Hawthorne  in  his 
American  Note  Books) ;  Roget,  On  Animal  and 
Vegetable  Physiology;  and  Prout,  Chemistry,  Meteo- 
rology, and  the  Function  of  Digestion. 

A  third  period  in  the  history  of  the  Athenaeum 
had  its  beginning  in  the  year  of  1854.  In  this  year 
the  institution  received  its  largest  bequest, — the  sum 
of  thirty  thousand  dollars  by  the  will  of  Miss  Caro- 
line Plummer,  designated  to  provide  a  building  for 
the  Athenaeum.  The  gift  was  made  in  memory  of 
her  brother,  Ernestus  Augustus  Plummer,  who  was 
born  November  2,  1781  and  died  September  28, 
1823.  He  had  been  a  proprietor  from  1814  to  1818 
and  again  from  1820  to  the  time  of  his  death. 
His  share  was  retained  by  his  sister  until  her  death. 
May  15,  1854.  In  addition  to  providing  a  building 
for  the  Athenaeum  Miss  Plummer  by  her  will  founded 
the  Plummer  Professorship  of  Christian  Morals  in 
Harvard  University  and  established  in  Salem  the 
Plummer  Farm  School  of  Reform  for  Boys. 

The  clause  in  Miss  Plummer' s  will  granting  the 
bequest  to  the  Athenaeum  is  as  follows:  — 

"I  give  and  bequeath  to  the  Proprietors  of  the  Salem  Athenaeum 
the  sum  of  Thirtj'  Thousand  Dollars,  directing  said  bequest  to  be 
very  distinctly  recorded  as  a  gift  from  my  beloved  brother  Ernestus 
A.  Plummer,  I  making  the  bequest  in  conformity  to  what  I  think 
would  have  been  his  wish,  he  having  felt  a  deep  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  this  literary  institution,  and  the  observatory  having  been 
furnished  with  large  additional  funds.  The  said  sum  of  thirty 
thousand  dollars  shall  be  appropriated  to  the  purchasing  a  piece  of 
land  in  some  central  and  convenient  spot  in  the  City  of  Salem,  and 
for  building  thereon  a  safe  and  elegant  building  of  brick  or  stone 
to  be  employed  for  the  purpose  of  depositing  the  books  belonging 

24 


PLUMMER  HALL,   1857 


to  said  Corporation,  with  liberty  also  to  have  the  rooms  thereof 
used  for  meetings  of  any  scientific  or  literary  institutions,  or  for  the 
deposite  of  any  works  of  art  or  natural  productions.  Should  said 
library  ever  become  a  public  one  this  bequest  shall  not  be  forfeited. 
I  expressly  prohibit  any  part  of  said  building  or  its  cellar  from  being 
used  as  a  public  or  private  office  of  business  or  place  for  the  sale  or 
deposits  of  merchandise,  being  unwilling  that  said  building  should 
be  used  for  any  purposes  which  might  endanger  by  fire  the  valuable 
library  therein  contained.  The  said  building  to  be  erected  and  the 
books  belonging  to  the  said  Corporation  to  be  deposited  in  it  with- 
in three  years  from  the  time  of  receiving  the  legacy  or  of  my 
decease.     Said  building  to  be  kept  constantly  insured." 

A  site  was  selected  and  purchased  in  1855  and 
plans  for  the  construction  of  a  building  were  taken 
under  consideration.  In  her  will  Miss  Plummer 
had  granted  liberty  "to  have  the  rooms  thereof  (of 
the  building)  used  for  meetings  of  any  scientific  or 
literary  institutions,  or  for  the  deposite  of  works  of 
art  or  natural  productions,"  and  the  question  arose 
as  to  whether  the  Athenaeum  should  erect  a  building 
to  meet  its  own  needs  only  or  one  which  would 
afford  room  also  for  the  Essex  Institute.  After 
much  discussion  the  Proprietors  voted  to  erect  a 
building  of  two  stories  which  would  accommodate 
both  itself  and  the  Essex  Institute.  The  work  of 
construction  was  begun  in  1856  and  the  building 
was  dedicated  in  October  of  the  following  year. 
Mr.  Enoch  Fuller  was  the  architect.  It  was  a  struc- 
ture of  brick  and  freestone,  Its  two  stories  were 
alike  in  plan, — a  central  entrance  hall  with  a  single 
room  on  either  side,  and  a  large  hall  in  the  rear 
occupying  about  two-thirds  of  the  entire  floor  space. 
The  Athenaeum  reserved  the  upper  floor  of  the 
building  for  its  own  use.  Here  in  the  large  hall  the 
major  portion  of  its  library  was  placed.  Shelving 
25 


was  provided  by  cases  built  against  the  walls  and 
in  triangular  alcoves  which  extended  into  the  hall 
on  either  side.  The  inner  apices  of  these  alcoves 
terminated  in  ornamental  columns,  which  formed 
an  inner  hall  area.  The  alcoves  were  divided  into 
two  stories,  but  the  columns  extended  from  floor  to 
roof.  With  its  series  of  stately  Corinthian  columns 
supporting  a  high  and  slightly  vaulted  ceiling  and 
its  shelved  walls  and  well-disposed  alcoves  filled  with 
books,  it  was  a  library  hall  of  considerable  distinction. 
Structually  it  was  the  most  important  room  in  the 
building.  It  was  entered  however  only  through  the 
front  corner  rooms.  One  of  these,  that  to  the  left 
of  the  entrance  hallway,  was  used  by  the  Athenaeum 
as  its  reading  room.  Here  were  to  be  found  the 
Librarian's  desk  (on  a  slightly  raised  platform), 
the  catalogue,  books  of  reference,  the  current  mag- 
azines, and  the  latest  additions  to  the  library.  The 
use  of  the  lower  floor  and  some  additional  shelf 
room  on  the  upper  floor  was  assigned  to  the  Essex 
Institute.  At  the  time  of  the  occupancy  of  Plum- 
mer  Hall  the  Essex  South  District  Medical  Society, 
organized  in  1805,  was  admitted  to  the  use  of  a 
portion  of  the  building  for  the  deposit  of  its  library, 
and  in  1862  the  Essex  Agricultural  Society,  organ- 
ized in  1818,  was  given  room  for  its  library.  These 
collections  were  contained  in  the  room  at  the  right 
of  the  hallway  on  the  second  story,  opposite  the 
reading  room  of  the  Athenaeum.  The  hall  on 
the  lower  floor,  controlled  by  the  Essex  Institute, 
was  frequently  used  for  public  lectures  and  concerts. 
Its  location,  on  the  first  floor,  directly  accessible 
from  the  hallway,  made  it  more  available  for  such 
purposes  than  the  hall  above;  it  was,  however,  less 
26 


interesting  architecturally  than  that,  and  was  five 
feet  less  in  height. 

The  building  was  dedicated  October  6,  1857,  and 
the  addresses  delivered  on  that  occasion,  together 
with  a  memoir  of  the  Plummer  family,  were  pub- 
lished in  a  single  pamphlet  in  the  following  year.  In 
1858  the  Athenaeum  also  issued  a  volume  containing 
a  catalogue  of  the  books  in  the  library,  the  by-laws, 
and  a  brief  historical  sketch  of  the  institution. 

The  acquisition  of  a  building  brought  a  new  era 
in  the  history  of  the  Athenaeum.  This  period, 
actively  entered  upon  in  1857,  continued  until  1907, 
exactly  fifty  years.  The  bringing  together  of  the 
various  intellectual  activities  into  one  building  gave 
rise  to  a  new  and  fundamental  problem,  that  of  the 
permanent  individuality  and  the  ultimate  relation- 
ship of  the  various  institutions  and  interests  in  Salem, 
literary,  scientific,  and  historical.  The  characteristic 
features  of  this  period  accordingly  appear  under  two 
distinct  aspects:  first,  the  determination  of  the  rela- 
tionship of  the  Athenaeum  to  other  institutions;  and 
second,  the  development  of  the  institution  itself. 
The  correlation  of  the  various  interests  was  the  lead- 
ing problem  and  came  to  be  the  dominant  feature 
of  the  period.     It  will  therefore  be  considered  first. 

Miss  Plummer' s  will,  through  the  permissions 
therein  granted,  anticipated  the  needs  and  made 
provision  for  the  solution  of  the  more  important 
problems  of  the  period  following  her  bequest.  The 
Athenaeum  was  designated  by  her  as  the  individual 
beneficiary,  but  regard  was  shown  for  other  interests 
of  a  kindred  sort.  In  1799  an  interesting  and  impor- 
tant organization  had  been  established  in  Salem,  the 
East  India  Marine  Society.  This  association  had 
27 


three  objects:  to  assist  its  own  indigent  members; 
"to  collect  such  facts  and  observations  as  tend  to  the 
improvement  and  security  of  navigation;"  and  "to 
form  a  museum  of  natural  and  artificial  curiosities, 
particularly  such  as  are  to  be  found  beyond  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  and  Cape  Horn".  As  to  member- 
ship the  by-laws  provided  that  "any  person  shall  be 
eligible  as  a  member  of  this  society,  who  shall  actu- 
ally have  navigated  the  seas  near  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  or  Cape  Horn,  either  as  master  or  com- 
mander, or  as  a  factor  or  supercargo  of  any  vessel 
belonging  to  Salem,  or,  if  a  resident  in  Salem,  of  any 
vessel  belonging  to  any  port  in  the  United  States". 
The  museum  collected  by  this  society  was  a  most 
remarkable  one.  In  1821,  as  has  already  been 
noted,  the  Essex  Historical  Society  had  been  formed 
in  Salem,  and  in  1833  residents  of  Essex  County 
interested  in  natural  history  had  organized  the  Essex 
County  Historical  Society  with  Salem  as  its  place  of 
meeting.  These  two  societies  were  united  in  1848 
to  form  the  Essex  Institute.  Consideration  for  these 
interests  is  in  evidence  in  Miss  Plummer's  permis- 
sion "to  have  the  rooms  thereof  (of  the  building) 
used  for' meetings  of  any  scientific  or  literary  insti- 
tutions, or  for  the  deposite  of  any  works  of  art  or 
natural  productions".  In  planning  their  building 
the  Proprietors  of  the  Athensum  had  generously 
provided  room  for  the  library  and  museum  of  the 
Essex  Institute.  In  1867  a  most  important  event 
took  place.  In  this  year  Mr.  George  Peabody 
founded  the  Peabody  Academy  of  Science  (Pea- 
body  Museum  of  Salem),  giving  funds  for  the  pros- 
ecution of  work  in  natural  history, — forty  thousand 
dollars  for  a  building  and  one  hundred   thousand 

28 


dollars  as  endowment.  At  this  time  the  Essex  Insti- 
tute relinquished  its  scientific  work  and  committed 
its  collections  of  specimens  of  natural  history  to  the 
care  of  the  new  institution,  as  did  also  the  East  India 
Marine  Society.  By  the  substantial  bequest  of  Mr. 
Peabody  scientific  study  in  Salem  acquired  an  abode 
of  its  own  and  was  no  longer  in  need  of  the  protect- 
ing roof  of  the  Athenaeum.  It  has  since  lived  its 
life  by  itself  and  not  associated  or  conjoined  with 
other  activities. 

Another  provision  in  Miss  Plummer's  will  men- 
tions specifically  an  interest  then  in  its  infancy  which 
has  since  become  one  of  the  notable  institutions  in 
American  life,  the  public  library.  During  this  period 
of  the  Athenaeum's  history,  from  1857  to  1907,  the 
public  library  developed  and  acquired  a  function  in 
the  community  second  educationally  only  to  the  pub- 
lic schools.  The  provision  in  Miss  Plummer's  will 
that  "should  said  library  ever  become  a  public  one 
this  bequest  shall  not  be  forfeited"  evinced  intimate 
acquaintance  with  contemporary  movements  and 
wise  foresight.  In  1848  the  Massachusetts  Legis- 
lature had  empowered  the  City  of  Boston  to  raise 
five  thousand  dollars  yearly  for  the  support  of  a  pub- 
lic library  and  in  1854  tlie  present  Public  Library 
was  opened.  Meanwhile,  in  1851,  the  Legislature 
had  extended  the  act  to  include  all  other  cities  and 
towns  in  the  Commonwealth.  The  first  effort  to 
establish  a  free  public  library  in  Salem  was  made  in 
1873.  In  this  year  the  mayor  brought  the  matter 
to  the  front  in  his  inaugural  address,  and  much  con- 
sideration was  given  to  the  matter.  The  friendly 
interest  of  the  Athenaeum  is  shown  by  a  vote  of  the 
Proprietors  in  May,  1873,  and  repeated  the  next  year, 

29 


**that  the  subject  of  a  Free  Library  be  referred  to 
the  Trustees  with  authority  to  confer  with  the  City 
Council  and  with  other  committees  and  report  the 
results".  But  this  effort  to  consolidate  the  existing 
hbraries  in  Salem  and  establish  a  municipal  one 
failed.  Several  years  later,  the  project  was  revived. 
At  their  annual  meeting  in  1885,  the  Proprietors 
voted  to  ''consent  to  the  use  of  said  (their)  library 
as  a  portion  of  a  Public  Library  for  the  City  of  Salem, 
provided  that  a  satisfactory  plan  be  entered  into  with 
such  other  Library  associations  of  the  city  to  unite 
with  the  Athensum  for  this  purpose  on  conditions 
acceptable  to  all".  The  plan  devised  at  this  time 
contemplated  the  remodelling  of  Plummer  Hall  and 
the  union  of  the  libraries  of  the  Athensum,  the 
Essex  Institute,  and  of  two  minor  libraries,  that  of 
the  Salem  Mechanic  Association,  organized  in  1817, 
and  that  of  the  Salem  Fraternity,  organized  in  1869. 
This  effort  was  not  directly  successful,  but  it  shortly 
led  to  a  definite  and  tangible  result.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1887,  the  problem  was  solved  by  the  gift  of 
property  which  would  serve  as  a  home  for  a  munici- 
pal library  which  the  city  was  at  that  time  willing 
and  ready  to  create,  and  on  July  8,  1889  the  present 
Public  Library  on  upper  Essex  street  was  opened. 
Thus  terminated  the  possibility  of  the  absorption  or 
obscuration  of  the  Athenaeum  by  union  or  consoli- 
dation to  form  a  public  library. 

One  more  relationship  remained  to  be  determined 
in  this  period — that  of  the  Athenasum  and  the  Essex 
Institute.  This  problem,  the  last  to  be  solved,  was 
the  first  in  point  of  origin.  Plummer  Hall  had 
been  built  to  meet  the  needs  of  both  institutions, 
and  in  this  fact  is  to  be  found  the   source  of  that 

30 


uncertainty  which  characterized  the  period.  By  the 
very  nature  of  things  the  co-occupation  of  Plummer 
Hall  by  the  Athensum  and  the  Essex  Institute  as 
planned  in  1857  could  not  really  be  permanent,  for 
both  were  growing  institutions.  The  Essex  Insti- 
tute, especially,  because  of  its  extensive  collection  of 
pamphlets  and  of  the  large  amount  of  space  required 
for  the  preservation  and  display  of  its  accumulations 
of  articles  of  historic  interest,  became  constantly  in 
need  of  more  room.  In  1886  the  Institute  purchased 
the  Daland  estate  adjoining  Plummer  Hall;  it  con- 
tinued, however,  in  the  use  of  the  room  which  had 
been  provided  for  it  in  Plummer  Hall.  In  1900  still 
more  room  was  needed  by  the  Institute  and  its  Direc- 
tors sought  to  purchase  Plummer  Hall,  but  the 
negotiations  came  to  naught.  Three  years  later 
they  again  approached  the  Athenaeum  with  regard 
to  the  matter,  and  in  1905  Plummer  Hall  was  sold 
to  the  Essex  Institute.  The  Athenaeum  then  secured 
a  site  at  339  Essex  street  and  erected  thereon  a  new 
Plummer  Hall  for  its  own  exclusive  use.  The 
new  building  was  completed  in  May,  1907  and  in 
the  following  month  the  library  was  moved  from 
the  first  Plummer  Hall,  which  then  came  into  the 
full  possession  of  the  Essex  Institute. 

By  this  transaction  in  1907  the  period  of  drifting 
and  uncertainty,  begun  in  1857,  was  brought  to 
a  close, — a  period  long  in  duration  and  slow  in 
action,  but  of  fundamental  and  far-reaching  impor- 
tance for  the  future.  Henceforth  the  various  socie- 
ties in  Salem  concerned  with  letters,  science,  and 
history  were  to  maintain  each  a  separate  and  distinc- 
tive existence  and  organization. 

The  development  of  the  Athenaeum  during  these 

31 


years  from  1857  to  1907  was  fairly  normal.  The 
events  just  set  forth  as  constituting  the  sahent  feature 
of  this  period  giving  it  its  character  and  marking  its 
bounds,  appear  as  such  only  in  retrospect.  To  the 
men  and  women  of  that  time  they  were  rather  as 
passing  incidents,  serious  and  acute  to  be  sure,  but 
so  only  for  the  time  being.  Nothing  need  neces- 
sarily have  come  from  them.  The  changes  which 
did  take  place  were  fortuitous;  at  no  stage  in  the 
course  of  events  could  one  have  forecast  what  the 
outcome  would  be,  for  the  determining  factors  in 
the  process  were  for  the  most  part  derived  from  per- 
sonal interest  and  personal  action.  So  it  came  about 
that  the  Athenaeum  continued  through  these  many 
years  to  render  genuine  and  vital  service  in  the  com- 
munity, though  to  a  far  less  extent  than  it  was  really 
capable  of  giving;  and  thereby  it  resulted  that  this 
period  in  the  life  of  the  Athensum,  though  overcast 
and  affected  by  the  uncertainty  which  characterized 
it,  was  otherwise  fairly  normal. 

When,  in  1857,  the  Athenaeum  moved  from  its 
quarters  in  Lawrence  Place  to  Plummer  Hall,  the 
membership  was  practically  as  large  as  it  had  ever 
been.  There  were  at  this  time  ninety-six  proprie- 
tors, one  share  being  then  in  the  treasury.  Of  these 
ninety-seven  shares  eighty-two  had  been  issued  in 
1810,  and  fifteen  in  the  dozen  years  immediately 
following.  The  acquisition  and  occupation  of  a 
large  and  commodious  building  seemed  to  be  an 
opportune  time  for  extending  the  usefulness  of  the 
Library,  and  accordingly  an  effort  was  made  at 
this  time  to  increase  its  constituency.  At  the  first 
annual  meeting  held  in  the  new  building,  in  May 
1858,  it  was  voted  "that  the  Trustees  be  authorized 

32 


to  sell  additional  shares  at  twenty  dollars  each." 
But  to  this  vote  there  was  no  response,  for  the  times 
were  most  unpropitious.  The  financial  panic  of  1857 
had  seriously  affected  the  fortunes  of  many  Salem 
families.  Then  came  the  Civil  War,  and  finally  the 
period  of  recovery  from  its  economic  and  financial 
disturbances.  It  was  not  until  well  into  the  seven- 
ties that  normal  conditions  again  prevailed.  The 
movement  in  1873  to  establish  a  public  library  in 
Salem  may  be  taken  as  an  indication  of  returning 
interest  in  books  and  reading.  The  founding  by 
Mr.  George  Peabody  of  the  Academy  of  Science  in 
1867  was  not  only  a  boon  to  one  branch  of  study; 
it  also  had  a  stimulating  effect  on  the  general  spirit 
of  the  community. 

The  era  from  1857  to  1907  falls  clearly  into  three 
divisions:  first  came  this  period  of  inaction  from 
1857  to  1873;  then  the  period  of  agitation  with 
reference  to  establishing  a  public  library,  from  1873 
to  1889;  and  finally  the  period  in  which  the  Essex 
Institute,  under  the  roof  of  the  Athenaeum  and  close 
beside  it,  grew  very  rapidly  while  the  Athenaeum 
itself  remained  stationary.  Now,  if  we  reckon  the 
third  period  as  ending  with  the  sale  of  Plummer 
Hall  to  the  Institute  in  1905,  all  these  periods,  curi- 
ously enough,  were  of  exactly  the  same  length,  six- 
teen years  each.  The  two  years  taken  up  in  plan- 
ning and  erecting  the  new  Plummer  Hall  completed 
the  fifty  years  which  comprise  the  entire  period. 

The  use  of  a  separate  building  in  1857  necessitated 
re-arrangement  in  the  routine  management  of  the 
library.  It  became  necessary  to  have  someone  in 
attendance  during  all  the  time  the  library  was  open. 
In  1858  the  matter  of  devising  ''some  plan  for  the 

33 


permanent  employment  of  a  librarian  and  for  the 
care  of  the  Library"  was  taken  under  consideration. 
Temporary  arrangements  were  made  in  this  and  the 
two  following  years,  and  in  1861  a  permanent  libra- 
rian ''with  fixed  compensation,  duties,  etc.,"  was 
appointed.  Miss  E.  K.  Rgberts  was  the  first  Libra- 
rian under  this  plan,  and  since  her  appointment 
there  have  been  but  four  other  Librarians  of  the 
Athenaeum. 

As  a  consequence  of  the  change  in  the  character 
and  extent  of  the  librarian's  service,  library  hours 
were  changed  at  the  time  of  the  occupancy  of  Plum- 
mer  Hall.  The  hours  appointed  were  from  nine  to 
one  and  from  two  to  five.  Since  1857  these  have 
been  varied  somewhat.  The  hour  of  opening  in  the 
morning  has  at  different  times  been  half  past  eight, 
quarter  before  nine,  and  nine  o'clock;  that  of  after- 
noon closing  has  been  either  five  or  six.  For  a 
number  of  years  the  library  was  closed  at  five  in 
winter  and  at  six  in  summer.  In  May,  1884  the 
position  of  assistant  librarian  was  created  and  noon 
-closing  was  done  away  with.  Since  1904  the  hours 
of  the  library  have '  been  from  nine  in  the  morning 
to  six  in  the  afternoon.  For  the  last  two  years  the 
library  has  also  been  open  on  Sunday  afternoons 
from  the  first  of  October  to  the  first  of  June  and  on 
certain  legal  holidays. 

The  number  of  volumes  in  the  library  in  1857 
was  about  eleven  thousand.  To  these  additions  have 
steadily  been  made  through  annual  appropriations, 
and  in  the  course  of  the  fifty  years  since  1857  the 
collection  has  more  than  doubled.  In  the  Historical 
Sketch  of  Salem  published  in  1879  the  number  of 
volumes  was  estimated  to  be  about  sixteen  thousand, 

34 


and  in  a  leaflet  of  information  issued  by  the  Athe- 
naeum in  1890  it  was  placed  at  twenty-one  thousand, 
five  hundred.  At  the  time  of  the  centennial  in  1910 
the  library  was  found  by  actual  count  to  comprise 
26,136  volumes. 

Information  regarding  additions  to  the  library 
has  now  for  many  years  been  furnished  the  pro- 
prietors by  means  of  printed  monthly  lists.  At  first 
these  lists  were  kept  at  the  library  for  distribution, 
but  since  1902  they  have  been  sent  to  every  proprie- 
tor and  subscriber  each  month. 

With  the  large  increase  in  the  size  of  libraries 
generally  in  the  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
and  more  especially  because  of  the  great  size  attained 
by  the  larger  ones,  the  printed  pamphlet  form  of 
catalogue  became  outgrown.  The  catalogue  which 
the  Athenaeum  issued  in  1858  was  the  last  it  printed. 
Interleaved  with  new  accessions,  it  was  used  in  the 
library  for  twenty-five  years,  by  the  end  of  which 
time  it  had  become  imperfect  and  had  fallen  into 
considerable  confusion,  and  its  revision  was  urgent. 
In  1883  needed  action  was  taken  and  the  work  of 
transition  from  the  old  to  a  new  method  of  catalog- 
ing was  begun.  In  this  year  the  library  was  re-class- 
ified and  a  new  manuscript  catalogue  in  book  form 
was  made  for  temporary  use.  In  the  next  year  work 
was  begun  on  a  card  catalogue  of  the  library,  and  in 
1889  the  present  card  catalogue  was  completed  and 
put  into  use.  This  has  been  kept  up  and  revised, 
and  is  in  excellent  condition.  Still  further  improve- 
ment was  made  in  the  years  1896,  1897  and  1898, 
when  the  library  was  classified  according  to  the 
Dewey  decimal  system.  Before  this  time  the  so- 
called  "fixed  position"  system  had  been  used.  In 
35 


this  the  shelves  were  numbered  and  the  books, 
arranged  according  to  subject,  were  catalogued  by 
the  number  of  the  shelf  on  which  they  were  to  be 
found.  In  the  new  system  subjects  and  authors, 
and  not  shelves,  are  fundamental;  the  books  are 
labelled  according  to  a  decimal  and  alphabetic  plan 
wherein  the  class  and  sub-class  is  designated  by  means 
of  numbers  used  on  a  decimal  basis  and  the  author 
by  his  initial  letter  and  a  subsidiary  numeral.  The 
new  method,  though  not  very  complicated,  classi- 
fies the  books  more  closely  than  the  former;  it  is 
much  more  flexible  in  daily  use;  and  with  it  the 
library,  evergrowing  as  every  living  library  must, 
expands  organically  and  systematically. 

The  regulations  of  the  Athenaeum  regarding  the 
use  of  the  library  have  always  been  liberal.  This  is 
true  of  it  both  as  a  circulating  library  and  as  a  read- 
ing room.  Proprietors  have  in  general  been  privi- 
leged to  have  four  books  out  at  a  time,  and  to  retain 
them  four  weeks.  This  period,  however,  is  for  the 
most  part  nominal,  as  books  may  be  retained  under 
sanction  of  the  by-laws  until  notice  is  received  that 
they  are  desired  by  another  member.  The  term  for 
new  books,  naturally  shorter,  is  limited  to  two 
weeks.  At  the  library  the  proprietors  have  always 
enjoyed  free  access  to  the  shelves— wire  netting  was 
never  used  by  the  Athenaeum.  In  one  instance  only 
has  restraint  been  put  upon  the  use  of  its  books.  In 
1847,  in  the  period  when  classical  studies  were  para- 
mount in  the  college  curriculum,  a  vote  was  passed 
closing  up  certain  avenues  of  literary  achievement: 
in  the  records  under  date  of  May  19,  1847,  is  to  be 
found  the  following  order:  "That  the  Translations 
of  the  Classical  authors  be  placed  under  lock  and 
36 


key," —  a  cruel  restriction  for  aspiring  but  indolent 
college  youth ! 

Until  within  recent  years  the  old-fashioned,  univer- 
sal practice  of  calling  in  all  the  books  once  a  year 
has  been  maintained  by  the  Athenaeum.  Every 
book  was  required  under  penalty  to  be  returned  in 
May  one  week  before  the  annual  meeting,  and  dur- 
ing this  week  shelf  lists  were  read,  the  books  were 
examined,  and  a  general  Spring  house-cleaning  was 
accomplished.  Meanwhile  the  library  was  closed 
to  proprietors.  About  1895  this  practice  was  discon- 
tinued. Now,  by  means  of  the  shelf  lists  supple- 
mented by  the  loan  list,  the  inspection  of  the  libra- 
ry is  effected  without  interrupting  its  operation,  and 
all  cleaning  is  planned  so  as  to  be  done  without 
interfering  with  the  service  of  the  library. 

During  the  period  from  1857  to  1907  an  interest- 
ing episode  developed  in  the  life  of  the  Athenaeum. 
It  arose  in  rather  an  unexpected  way.  From  1876 
to  1881  the  Trustees  of  the  Peabody  Academy  of 
Science  conducted  a  summer  school  of  biology  in 
Salem.  This  had  an  average  attendance  of  twenty- 
five  students,  and  for  the  use  of  these  students  the 
Academy  secured  the  control  of  six  or  more  shares 
of  the  Athenaeum.  In  1882,  the  year  after  the  school 
was  discontinued,  the  Academy  further  purchased 
three  more  shares,  which  the  Proprietors  had  author- 
ized the  issuance  of  in  1876.  Subsequently,  from 
time  to  time,  other  shares  were  secured  by  the  Acad- 
emy until  twenty-four  had  been  acquired.  These 
the  Academy  continued  to  hold  for  a  period  of  years, 
renting  them  privately  the  meantime.  In  1903  the 
Trustees  of  the  Athenaeum  bought  these  twenty-four 
shares  in  a  block,  at  fifteen  dollars  a  share,  and  re- 
37 


sold  them  within  a  year  or  two  to  individuals.  The 
change  in  placement  of  these  shares  afforded  relief 
to  the  Academy  and  gave  stimulation  to  the  Athe- 
naeum ;  the  Academy  was  relieved  of  the  task  of  sub- 
letting, and  the  Athenaeum  gained  in  new  member- 
ship and  inherent  vitality. 

Apropos  of  the  holding  of  these  shares  of  the 
Athenaeum  by  another  corporation,  it  should  be  stated 
that  the  institutions  were  allied  and  yet  non-compet- 
itive, and  that  they  were  managed  and  directed  largely 
by  the  same  persons.  Moreover,  in  the  seventies  and 
eighties,— and  for  that  matter  in  the  early  nineties 
as  well — Athenaeum  shares  were  not  in  demand.  The 
transformation  of  the  Athenaeum  into  a  public  library 
was  every  now  and  then  under  discussion  and  the 
possibility  of  its  absorption  naturally  had  a  deterrent 
effect  on  the  vigor  of  the  institution.  The  future  of 
the  Academy  was  secure ;  that  of  the  Athenaeum  was 
still  undetermined. 

By  the  character  of  their  charter  the  Proprietors 
of  the  Athenaeum  have  no  personal  equity  in  the 
property  of  the  institution.  The  estate  is  to  be 
"appropriated  for  the  promotion  of  literature,  of  the 
arts  and  sciences,  and  not  otherwise."  Through 
their  privilege  of  controlling  and  directing  the  prop- 
erty the  shareholders  are  trustees;  and  through  their 
privilege  of  use  they  further  become,  so  to  speak, 
proprietary-trustees.  But  this  is  not  all.  Theirs  is 
also  participation  in  support:  they  are  sustaining 
members.  Assessments  for  the  maintenance  and 
enlargement  of  the  library  are  an  essential  feature  of 
the  institution  and  are  annually  levied  on  all  shares. 
Provision  for  them  is  found  in  the  charter  and  action 
in  case  of  their  non-payment  is  therein  designated. 
38 


At  the  outset  the  annual  assessment  was  the  only 
means  of  meeting  the  current  expenses  and  enlarg- 
ing the  library.  During  the  early  years,  when  the 
Athenaeum  was  without  a  home  of  its  own  and  had 
rental  to  pay,  and  before  it  had  any  productive  funds, 
the  annual  assessment  was  considerably  more  (espec- 
ially so  if  we  consider  the  purchasing  power  of 
money)  than  it  has  been  in  recent  years.  From 
1810  to  1814  it  was  five  dollars;  in  1815  it  was  ten 
dollars,  and  in  1816  eight;  from  1817  to  1820  it  was 
again  ten  dollars,  and  from  1821  to  1849  seven;  since 
1849  it  has  uniformly  been  five  dollars. 

Since  receiving  the  bequest  which  provided  a 
building  in  1857  the  Athenaeum  has  received  several 
other  legacies,  some  of  them  inspired  by  hereditary 
interest  in  the  institution. 

In  1861  Nathaniel  Ingersoll  Bowditch,  a  son  of 
Nathaniel  Bowditch,  left  the  Athenaeum  the  sum  of 
one  thousand  dollars.  The  clause  in  the  will  grant- 
ing this  is  as  follows :  — 

"I  give  to  the  Proprietors  of  the  Salem  Athenaeum  one  thousand 
dollars  as  a  slight  mark  of  regard  for  my  native  tow^n. " 

By  vote  of  the  Trustees  this  gift  was  added  to  the 
"Bowditch  Fund"  created  by  his  father  in  1838. 

In  1879  a  bequest  came  to  the  Athenaeum  by  the 
will  of  William  Howes,  son  of  Frederick  Howes 
who  was  a  Proprietor  from  1816  to  1853  and  a  Trus- 
tee from  1826  to  1840.  This  bequest  amounted  to 
ten  thousand  dollars  and  has  been  constituted  the 
''Howes  Fund." 

In  1889  J.  Ingersoll  Bowditch,  LL.D.,  another 
son  of  Nathaniel  Bowditch,  remembered  the  Athe- 
naeum in  his  will,  leaving  it  the  sum  of  one  thousand 
dollars. 

39 


The  last  bequest  to  the  Athenaeum  in  the  first  cen- 
tury of  its  history  came  in  1898  from  George  Plumer 
Smith  of  Philadelphia.  This  gift  increased  the  assets 
of  the  Athenaeum  by  about  five  thousand  dollars  and 
has  been  set  aside  by  the  Trustees  and  designated  the 
"George  Plumer  Smith  Fund",  the  income  from 
which  is  to  be  devoted  to  the  payment  of  current 
expenses. 

In  the  years  immediately  preceding  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Public  Library  the  Athenaeum,  being 
the  principal  library  in  the  city,  was  fairly  well  used. 
Its  circulation  ranged  from  6,843  in  1883  to  7,786  in 
1887.  Few  persons,  however,  desired  to  become 
proprietors  and  a  considerable  number  of  the  users 
of  the  library  were  annual  or  semi-annual  subscribers. 
At  the  time  of  the  opening  of  the  Public  Library  in 
1889  fully  half  the  subscribers  of  the  Athenaeum  dis- 
continued and  the  circulation  fell  perceptibly.  To 
stimulate  the  lagging  interest  in  the  institution  a 
leaflet  of  information  regarding  the  library  was  issued 
in  1890.  At  this  time  also  the  Proprietors  took 
under  consideration  the  lighting  of  the  large  hall,  but 
nothing  was  actually  done  in  the  matter.  A  few 
years  later,  between  1895  and  1905,  substantial 
improvement  in  the  condition  of  the  Athenaeum  was 
effected  through  the  activity  of  the  Treasurer  in  re- 
newing the  body  of  proprietors.  Of  the  proprietors 
in  1910  thirty-one,  or  nearly  one  third,  became 
shareholders  between  the  annual  meetings  of  1895 
and  1905.  During  these  ten  years  there  were  fifty- 
nine  stock  transfers  as  compared  with  sixty  in  the 
twenty  years  preceding,  or  in  this  single  decade 
almost  twice  as  many  as  in  the  two  preceding  dec- 
ades.    In  July    1903,    the   Trustees    instructed   the 

40 


Treasurer  to  buy  the  shares  then  held  by  the  Pea- 
body  Academy  of  Science  which  that  institution  was 
wilHng  to  sell  at  fifteen  dollars  a  share.  Within  the 
next  three  years  the  Treasurer  sold  these  twenty-four 
shares  to  individuals  and  the  increase  thereby  made 
in  the  number  of  persons  having  direct  proprietary 
interest  in  the  Athenaeum  was  highly  advantageous 
in  every  way.  It  did  much  to  dispel  the  lethargy 
which  had  rested  upon  the  Athenaeum  as  an  institu- 
tion for  so  many  years. 

In  1905,  as  has  been  stated,  Plummer  Hall  was 
sold  to  the  Essex  Institute,  the  Proprietors  in  Novem- 
ber of  that  year  having  voted  to  accept  the  offer  of 
fifty  thousand  dollars  made  by  the  Essex  Institute  for 
the  land  and  building  of  the  Athenaeum.  At  the 
same  meeting  the  Proprietors  empowered  the  Trus- 
tees to  purchase  a  site  and  erect  a  building  at  a  cost 
not  exceeding  forty  thousand  dollars.  The  present 
site  on  upper  Essex  street  was  finally  selected  and  the 
sum  of  fourteen  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  was 
paid  for  the  Curwen  and  the  Swedenborgian  Church 
properties.  Subsequently  the  buildings  and  the 
organ  and  pews  were  sold  and  the  cost  of  the  lot  was 
thereby  reduced  to  thirteen  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars.  The  exterior  design  of  ''Homewood"  in 
Baltimore,  the  mansion  of  Charles  Carroll  of  Carroll- 
ton,  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
from  Maryland,  was  selected  by  the  Trustees  and  a 
building  modelled  after  this,  save  for  the  wings  on 
either  side,  which  may  be  added  later  for  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  library,  was  erected  at  a  cost  (including 
the  furnishings  and  a  steel  stack)  of  forty-one  thousand 
dollars.  The  nine  thousand  dollars  remaining  from 
the  fifty  thousand  which  the  Athenaeum  had  received 
41 


from  the  Essex  Institute  for  the  first  Plummer  Hall 
were  added  to  the  permanent  fund  and  designated 
as  the  Caroline  Plummer  Fund.  The  reservation 
of  this  sum  of  money  and  its  addition  to  the  fund 
for  general  purposes  was  designed  through  the  in- 
terest to  be  derived  therefrom  to  offset  the  loss  of 
income  hitherto  received  from  the  Essex  Institute 
in  the  form  of  part  payment  for  heating,  lighting, 
repairs,  etc.,  in  consideration  of  the  privilege  of 
the  co-occupancy  of  Plummer  Hall  granted  by  the 
Athenaeum. 

The  largest  room  in  the  new  Plummer  Hall  is  the 
reading  room.  This  extends  across  the  entire  rear 
of  the  building  and  occupies  about  one  half  of  the 
floor  area  of  the  first  story.  Rectangular  in  shape 
and  simple  and  symmetrical  in  design,  this  room  has  a 
distinct  and  charming  individuality.  It  is  cheerful, 
restful,  and  singularly  beautiful,  and  is  admirably 
adapted  to  its  purpose.  Low  cases  extending  some- 
what into  the  room  and  terminating  in  fluted  col- 
umns reaching  to  the  ceiling,  subdivide  it  into  three 
sections.  The  tripartite  division,  however,  does  not 
interfere  with  the  sense  of  unity;  rather,  it  enhances 
it.  From  the  central  division  of  the  reading  room 
the  fire-proof  stack  room  is  entered.  This  occupies 
one  entire  corner  on  the  front  of  the  building,  from 
basement  to  roof.  In  the  opposite  corner,  at  the 
right  of  the  entrance,  is  a  reading  room,  supplemen- 
tary to  but  separate  from  the  main  reading  room. 
The  books  of  the  library  are  distributed  by  classes 
through  these  rooms  and  in  the  basement  under  and 
the  room  over  the  main  reading  room.  The  present 
building,  without  enlargement  through  the  erection 
of  wings  found  in  the  original,  provides  ample  shelv- 

42 


-«^- 


PLUMMER  HALL,   1907 


ing  space,  enough,  in  fact,  to  meet  the  normal  growth 
of  the  Hbrary  for  a  considerable  number  of  years. 

As  a  library  building  the  second  Plummer  Hall  is 
in  most  respects  far  superior  to  its  predecessor.  In 
the  first  Plummer  Hall  the  library  was  lodged  on 
the  second  floor,  reached  from  the  entrance  hall  by 
a  broad  but  long  flight  of  stairs.  The  library  was 
contained  in  a  reading  room,  small  and  not  particu- 
larly attractive,  and  in  the  large  and  elegantly  pro- 
portioned hall.  This  hall,  it  is  true,  was  stately  and 
of  considerable  beauty,  but  it  was  not  well  adapted  to 
library  needs.  Its  triangularly  shaped  alcoves  were 
not  economical  of  space  and  were  incapable  of  expan- 
sion. Heating  the  hall  through  the  winter  months 
was  beyond  the  resources  of  the  Athensum,  and 
facilities  for  lighting  had  never  been  provided, 
though  this  improvement  had  from  time  to  time 
been  considered.  Consequently  at  the  time  of  year 
when  the  library  was,  at  least  in  later  years,  most 
used,  this  largest  room  of  the  Athensum  was  practi- 
cally uninhabitable.  The  new  building,  on  the 
other  hand,  affords  almost  every  facility  for  the  best 
use  of  the  books  and  the  comfort  and  convenience  of 
the  proprietors.  Great  changes  in  architectural  ideals 
have  taken  place  during  the  past  fifty  years  through 
the  effort  to  secure  greater  adaptability  of  buildings 
to  the  purpose  for  which  they  are  to  be  used.  Mr. 
William  G.  Rantoul  was  the  architect  of  the  second 
Plummer  Hall. 

The  new  building  was  dedicated  on  the  evening 
of  October  2,  1907.  The  address  on  that  occasion 
was  delivered  by  George  E.  Woodberry,  LL.  D., 
Litt.  D.,  of  Beverly.  This  address  was  subsequently 
issued  in  pamphlet  form. 

43 


The  change  of  building  was  most  fortunate  for  the 
Athenaeum.  No  longer  hampered  by  the  disadvan- 
tages incident  to  the  former  building,  the  Athenaeum 
now  stood  forth  in  its  full  individuality.  To  the 
improvement  in  the  general  condition  of  the  society 
which  had  gradually  been  taking  place  since  1895 
through  the  infusion  of  new  life  into  its  member- 
ship, was  now  added  the  stimulation  derived  from 
the  occupation  of  a  beautiful  and  most  convenient 
building  devoted  solely  to  its  own  purpose.  In  en- 
tering its  new  building  in  1907  the  Athenaeum  en- 
tered upon  a  new  era  in  its  history. 

Additions  to  the  library  during  the  last  ten  years 
have  averaged  three  hundred  and  twenty  books  a 
year.  Last  year  three  hundred  and  ninety-two  vol- 
umes were  added,  twenty-five  of  these  being  gifts. 
They  were  of  the  following  classes :  — books  of  refer- 
ence, two;  bound  magazines,  fifty-eight;  religion, 
sociology  and  science,  forty-one;  history  and  bio- 
graphy, eighty-five;  fiction,  one  hundred  and  twen- 
ty-eight ;  literature  and  art,  twenty-seven ;  books  in 
the  French  language,  fourteen;  new  copies  of  old 
books,  thirty-seven.  The  Athenaeum  subscribes  to 
thirty-one  magazines  and  periodicals.  Last  year  the 
circulation  of  the  library  was  six  thousand,  four  hun- 
dred and  fifty-four. 

The  library  is  open  from  nine  in  the  morning  to 
six  in  the  afternoon  on  week  days,  and  from  half 
past  two  to  six  o'clock  on  Sundays  from  October 
first  to  June  first  and  certain  legal  holidays.  Each 
proprietor  and  subscriber  is  entitled  to  have  four 
books  and  one  periodical  in  his  possession  at  one 
time.  Books  which  have  been  in  the  Hbrary  less 
than  one  year  may  be  retained  only  for  two  weeks. 
44 


Unbound  numbers  of  periodicals  may  circulate  after 
two  weeks  and  may  be  retained  not  longer  than  one 
week.  The  annual  assessment  levied  on  shares  **  for 
current  expenses  and  the  increase  of  the  library"  has 
for  more  than  sixty  years  been  five  dollars  a  year. 
According  to  the  By-laws  of  1906  subscribers  not  to 
exceed  fifty  in  number  may  be  admitted  to  the  privi- 
leges of  the  Athenaeum  upon  the  payment  of  a  sum 
not  less  than  one  and  one  half  times  the  annual 
assessment  on  a  share.  Since  the  adoption  of  these 
By-laws  the  annual  fee  has  been  seven  and  a  half 
dollars.  At  present  there  are  one  hundred  proprie- 
tors of  the  Athenaeum    and  forty-eight  subscribers. 

In  the  month  of  March  1910  the  Athensum  cele- 
brated the  one  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of 
the  founding  of  the  Social  Library  and  its  own  cen- 
tennial. A  collection  of  rare  and  especially  interest- 
ing books  and  "articles  was  on  exhibition  during  the 
entire  month.  On  Tuesday  evening,  March  twen- 
ty-eighth, there  was  a  social  gathering  in  Plummer 
Hall,  and  on  the  following  evening  literary  exer- 
cises were  held  in  Academy  Hall  at  which  Professor 
Barrett  Wendell  of  Harvard  University  delivered  the 
address. 

At  the  termination  of  its  first  century, — of  its  first 
century  and  a  half,  if  we  reckon  from  its  earliest 
source, — the  Athenaeum  finds  itself  in  a  prosperous 
and  stable  condition.  Its  constituency  of  nearly  one 
hundred  and  fifty  proprietors  and  subscribers  is  the 
largest  in  its  history;  for  its  habitation  it  has  an 
attractive  and  adequate  building ;  its  productive  funds 
amount  to  more  than  forty-six  thousand  dollars,  and 
yield  an  annual  income  of  nearly  twenty-two  hun- 
dred dollars.  The  library  itself  comprises  over  twen- 
45 


ty-six  thousand  volumes,  all  in  excellent  condition, 
fully  catalogued,  and  easily  accessible.  The  appro- 
priation for  books  for  the  Centennial  year,  1910-1911, 
is  seven  hundred  dollars. 

Though  now  a  library  for  general  culture  and  no 
longer  prominent  either  for  size  or  contents,  the 
Athenaeum  is  nevertheless  an  institution  of  unusual 
interest  historically.  Nathaniel  Bowditch  unques- 
tionably knew  all  the  facts  when  in  making  bequest 
to  the  Athenaeum  in  1838  he  designated  it  as  having 
been  in  his  early  days  "a  better  collection  of  philo- 
sophical and  scientific  books  than  could  be  found  in 
any  other  part  of  the  United  States  nearer  than 
Philadelphia."  This  distinction  of  course  long  ago 
passed  from  the  Athenaeum ;  but  the  fact  that  it  once 
held  such  a  distinction  secures  for  it  an  honorable 
place  in  the  history  of  libraries  in  America. 

The  Athenaeum  has  historical  interest  in  other  ways 
also.  It  is  one  of  the  oldest  libraries  in  the  United 
States,  the  oldest  institution  of  its  general  class  in  the 
community,  and  perpetuates  in  itself  one  of  the  dis- 
tinctive types  of  American  libraries,  a  type  no  longer 
prevailing.  The  period  of  its  life  has  been  of  excep- 
tional importance;  during  its  years  great  and  notable 
changes  have  taken  place  in  the  organization,  char- 
acter and  management  of  libraries,  and  in  their  place 
and  function  in  the  community.  The  Athenaeum, 
covering  as  it  does  practically  the  entire  period  of 
library  development  in  this  country,  is  in  one  way 
and  another  illustrative  of  many  of  these  changes. 
Again,  by  reason  of  its  own  direct  influence  in  the 
intellectual  life  of  the  community  and  its  character 
as  the  guardian  and  friend,  if  not  actually  the  parent 
of  kindred  institutions  in  Salem,  the  Athenasum  is 

46 


I 


conspicuous  in  local  history.  Its  history  is  thus,  to 
an  unusual  degree,  indicative  of  the  course  of  library 
development  in  America,  and  expressive  of  the  his- 
torj^  of  learning  and  culture  in  Salem. 


47 


I 


OFFICERS  OF 
THE  SALEM  ATHEN.EUM 


PRESIDENTS 

Edward  A.  HoJyoke, 

1810-1829 

George  Choate, 

1850-1864 

Benjamin  Pickman, 

1829-1835 

Alpheus  Crosby, 

1864-1874 

Ichabod  Tucker, 

1835-1838 

William  Mack, 

1874-1886 

Daniel  Appleton  White,  1838-1840 

Edmund  B.  Willson, 

1886-1895 

Benjamin  Merrill, 

1840-1847 

Richard  C.  Manning, 

1895-1904 

Stephen  C.  Phillips, 

1847-1850 

Henry  A.  Hale, 

1904- 

CLERKS  OF  THE  PROPRIETORS 

John  Sparhawk  Appleton,  1810-1814 

Wm.  P.  Richardson, 

1841-1846 

John  Pickering, 

1814-1819 

Henry  Wheatland, 

1846-1891 

John  Glen  King, 

1819-1831 

Charles  S.  Osgood, 

1891-1895 

Ebenezer  Shillaber, 

1831-1841 

Joseph  N.  Ashton, 

1895- 

TREASURERS 

William  Shepard  Gray 

,  1810-1818 

Jonathan  F.  Worcester, 

1851-1855 

George  Cleveland 

1818-1824 

Benjamin  H.  Silsbee, 

1855-1856 

Benjamin  Merrill, 

1824-1827 

James  Chamberlain, 

1856-1865 

Joseph  A.  Peabody, 

1827-1828 

Henry  Wheatland, 

1865-1866 

George  Peabody, 

1828-1834 

Nathaniel  C.  Robbins 

1866-1876 

John  Moriarty, 

1834-1835 

Henry  J.  Cross, 

1876-1879 

Solomon  S.  Whipple, 

1835-1839 

Nathaniel  C.  Robbins, 

1879-1880 

Gideon  Tucker, 

1839-1846 

Richard  C.  Manning, 

1880-1889 

John  Clarke  Lee, 

1846-1849 

Frederick  P.  Richardsor 

1,1889-1907 

Pickering  Dodge, 

1849-1850 

Nathaniel  A.  Very, 

1907-1914 

Benjamin  Barstow, 

1850-1851 

Ralph  B.  Harris, 

1914- 

The  list  of  officers  has  been  brought  down  to  the  date  of  publication. 
49 


TRUSTEES 


Edward  Augustus  Holyoke, 

1810- 
John  Dexter  Treadwell,  1810- 
Samuel  Putnam,  1810- 

Joseph  Story,  1810- 

Nathaniel  Silsbee,  1810- 

Moses  Little,  1810- 

Benjamin  Lynde  Oliver,  1810- 
Nathaniel  Bowditch,  1810- 
John  Pickering,  1810- 

Gideon  Tucker,  1812- 

Chas.  Chauncey  Clarke,  1821- 
John  Glen  King,  1822- 

Benjamin  Peirce,  1823- 

Daniel  Appleton  White,  1824- 
Benjamin  Merrill,  1826- 

Frederick  Howes,  1826- 

Benjamin  Pickman,  1827- 
Ichabod  Tucker,  1827- 

George  Cleveland,  1827- 

George  Peabody,  1829- 

Malthus  A.  Ward,  1829- 
William  Gibbs,  1830- 

Abel  L.  Peirson,  1832- 

Stephen  P.  Webb,  1832- 

Solomon  S.  Whipple,  1833- 
Horatio  Robinson,  1835- 

John  Glen  King,  1838- 

Thomas  Cole,  1838- 

George  Choate,  1839- 

William  P.  Richardson,  1839- 
Benjamin  Merrill,  1840- 

Leverett  Saltonstall,  1840- 
Asahel  Huntington,  1840- 
Francis  Peabody,  1840- 

John  Clarke  Lee,  1840- 

Joseph  Sebastian  Cabot,  1840- 
Elisha  Mack,  1844- 


Henry  Wheatland,  1845-1855 

-1829  Stephen  C.  Phillips,  1846-1852 

■1824  Geo.  Francis  Chever,  1848-1852 

■1821  Stephen  P.  Webb,  1849-1852 

■1830  Oliver  Carlton,  1849-1856 

•1827  John  Henry  Silsbee,  1849-1856 

•1812  Jonathan  F.  Worcester,  1852-1856 

■1826  Benjamin  Barstow,  1852-1861 

•1823  Nehemiah  Brown,  Jr.  1852-1854 

■1827  William  Mack,  1853-1886 

1822  James  Mason  Hoppin,  1853-1859 

1829  Wm.  Dudley  Pickman,  1854-1856 

•1826  James  W.  Chever,  1855-1857 

1827  James  Chamberlain,  1856-1871 

1840  William  S.  Messervy,  1856-1886 

1838  John  Clarke  Lee,  1856-1866 

1840  Asahel  Huntington,  1856-1864 

1835  Henry  Wheatland,  1857-1893 

1838  John  L.  Russell,  1859-1874 
1833  George  Andrews,  1861-1863 
1840  Alpheus  Crosby,  1863-1874 
1832  Joseph  G.  Waters,  1864-1879 
1832  Nathaniel  C.  Robbins,  1864-1881 
1853  Henry  F.  King,  1866-1876 
1840  Frederick  W.  Putnam,  1871-1887 

1839  Henry  M.  Brooks,  1874-1876 

1840  Martha  K.  Crosby,  1876-1881 

1839  Richard  C.  Manning,  1874-1904 

1840  William  P.  Upham,  1876-1886 
1864  Thomas  F.  Hunt,  1879-1887 

1846  Edmund  B.  Willson,  1881-1895 

1847  Frederick  P.  Richardson,  1881-1907 
1845  William  Northey,  1886-1890 
1844  George  A.  Perkins,  1886-1894 
1849  George  P.  Messervy,  1886-1889 
1849  Wm.  C.  Endicott,  Jr.  1887-1889 
1849  Charles  S.  Osgood,  1887-1898 
1853  Arthur  L.  Goodrich,  1890-1897 


50 


David  Choate, 

1890-1903 

Richard  Wheatland, 

1904-1908 

William  O.  Chapman 

,  1893-1908 

Arthur  W.  West, 

1905- 

Thomas  F.  Hunt, 

1893-1898 

John  S.  Williams, 

1905-1911 

Joseph  N.  Ashton, 

1894- 

Nathaniel  A.  Very, 

1907-1914 

Gilbert  L.  Streeter, 

1896-1901 

Stephen  W.  Phillips, 

1908- 

Alden  P.  White, 

1897-1911 

William  C.  Waters, 

Jr.  1908- 

William  H.  Gove, 

1898-1905 

John  Robinson, 

1911- 

John  Robinson, 

1898-1905 

George  R.  Lord, 

1911- 

George  R.  Jevvett, 

1902- 

Ralph  B.  Harris, 

1914- 

Henry  A.  Hale, 

1903- 

CLERKS  OF  THE  TRUSTEES 

John  Pickering, 

1810-1827 

Henry  Wheatland, 

1840-1855 

Benjamin  Merrill, 

1827-1832 

J.  F.  Worcester, 

1855-1856 

Ichabod  Tucker, 

1832-1833 

Henry  J.  Cross, 

1856-1860 

Solomon  S.  Whipple, 

1833-1835 

Henry  Wheatland, 

1860-1891 

Horatio  Robinson, 

1835-1838 

Charles  S.  Osgood, 

1891-1895 

Thomas  Cole, 

1838-1840 

Joseph  N.  Ashton, 

1895-1906* 

*  In  1906  the  office  of  Clerk  of  the  Trustees  was  united  with  that 
of  Clerk  of  the  Proprietors. 


51 


PROPRIETORS 

1810-1910 


Joseph  Adams,  54  1853-1871 

Caroline  L.  Allen,  43     1906- 
Andrew  B.  Almon,  90    1856-1864 
Catherine  Andrew,  63    1837-1850 
John  Andrew,  63  1822-1837 

George  Andrews,  41  1857-1896 
John  H.  Andrews,  66  1818-1853 
Joseph  Andrews,  63  1851-1870 
Samuel  Page  Andrews,  1 

1853-1897 
William  P.  Andrews,  100 

1904- 
IrvingK.  Annable,  18     1904- 
Henry  Appleton,  41       1819-1824 
John  Appleton,  56  1831-1834 

John  S.  Appleton,  28       1810-1817 
83      1821-1825 
Joseph  F.  Appleton,  97  1906- 
Nathaniel  Appleton,  41  1810-1819 
Augustus  J.  Archer,  31   1843-1846 


Jacob  Ashton,  8  1810-1837 

Joseph  N.  Ashton,  86  1892- 

Susan  Ashton,  8  1837-1857 

William  Ashton,  59  1810-1826 

William  F.  Ashton, 86  1876-1892 

Eleazer  Austin,  7  1853-1882 

TheodoreD.  Bacon,  67  1909- 

Joseph  Baker,  80  1810-1816 

William  T.  Balch,  45  1854-1854 

Thomas  P.  Bancroft,  4  1810-1843 

John  Barr,  60  1810-1827 

Benjamin  Barstow,  39  1845-1895 

Benjamin  Barstow,  85  1885-1888 

The  number  after  the  proprietor 


Gideon  Barstow,  90  1818-1847 
Gorden  Bartlett,  11  1859-1868 
Seth  Bass,  89  1815-1819 

94  1818-1821 

96  1821-1826 

John  H.  Batchelder,  28  1865-1882 
30  1856-1861 
Eben  Beckford,  61  1810-1818 
Arthur  F.  Benson,  47  1907- 
Henry  P.  Benson,  54  1907- 
Henry  M.  Bixby,  63  1907- 
Henry  Blanchard,  20  1810-1814 
Nathaniel  Bowditch,  2  1810-1824 
W.  I.  Bowditch,  86  1854-1856 
Lucy  H.  Bowdoin,  42  1899-1903 
W.  L.  Bowdoin,  96  1863-1883 
George  P.  Bradford,  86  1856-1859 
George  W.  Briggs,  92  1853-1868 
Robert  Brookhouse,  41  1840-1848 
Robert  Brookhouse,  92  1868-1885 
Henry  M.  Brooks,  60  1857-1861 
Henry  M.  Brooks,  82  1868-1896 
William  Augustus  Brooks,  76 

1852- 
Benjamin  B.  Brown,  72  1860-1864 
Charles  Alva  Brown,  52  1909- 
Charles  D.  Brown,  52  1902-1909 
C.  F.  W.  Brown,  41  1849-1852 
J.  Vincent  Brown,  74  1860-1861 
Nehemiah  Brown,  32  1840-1846 
55  1837-1838 
Nehemiah  Brown,  Jr.,  3 

1850-1856 

name  is  that  of  the  share  held  by  him. 


52 


Albert  G.  Browne,  18  1833- 
BenjaminF.  Browne,  29  1835- 
Edward  C.  Browne,  99  1908- 
Timothy  Bryant,  91  1823- 
James  R.  BufFum,  27  1825- 
Susan  Burley,  97  1826- 

John  Cabot,  45  1810- 

John  Cabot,  Jr.,  46  1810- 
Rebecca  Cabot,  33  1810- 

William  Cabot,  24  1810- 
Oliver  Carlton,  31  1846- 

54         1836- 
James  Chamberlain,  68  1840- 
Wm.  O.  Chapman,  37  1890- 
66  1905- 
Philip  Chase,  96  1826- 

Stephen  A.  Chase,  32  1846 
William  H.  Chase,  16  1841- 
James  W.  Chever,  9  1839- 
Thomas  Chisholm,  43  1849- 
Wallace  A.  Chisholm,  92 

1905- 
Amos  Choate,  95  1824- 

David  Choate,  48  1868- 

George  Choate,  23  1838- 
Rufus  Choate,  37  1831- 

William  P.  Choate,  47  1861. 
Charles  C.  Clark,  51  1817- 
Dexter  Clapp,  30  1861- 

John  Clark,  41  1848 

George  Cleveland,  39  1810 
William  Cleveland,  5  1826 
John  Clifton,  66  1853 

Joseph  Cloutman,  23  1833 
Joseph  P.  Cloutman,  12  1871 
Henry  Cogswell,  49  1843 
Caroline  J.  Cole,  65  1868 
Thomas  Cole,  25  1837 

27  1827 

Horace  L.  Connolly,    5  1842 


1843  81  1850-1853 

1837  90  1853-1856 
James  Cook,  46  1812-1828 

1826  Frank  Cousins,  41  1896-1898 

1827  Benjamin  Cox,  49  1831-1843 
1841  Benjamin  Cox,  Jr.,  83  1844-1899 
1812  Samuel  P.  Crocker,  22  1853-1858 
1812      Alpheus  Crosby,  9  1859-1876 

1885  Martha  K.  Crosby,  9     1876-1881 
1830      Henry  J.  Cross,  81         1871-1879 
1857      Benjamin  W.  Crowninshield,  62 
1846  1810-1834 

1906  John  Crowninshield,  63  1810-1820 
David  Cummings,  61     1820-1823 

1907  James  B.  Curwen,  16    1840-1841 

1828  Thomas  C.  Cushing,  27  1810-1825 
1875      Crombie  Street  Society,  6 

1844  1834-1843 
1859      Crombie  Street  Church,  71 

1886  1860- 
First  Baptist  Church,  44  1835- 
Howard  Street  Church,  29 

.1858  1837-1840 

Independent  Congregational 
1869  Church  (Barton  Square),  17 

■1838  1858-1906 

■1868     Second  Church,  17         1906- 

1838  Tabernacle  Church,  82  1833-1845 
■1868  Tabernacle  Church,  75  1881- 
-1849  Tucker  Daland,  3  1856-1861 
•1840  41  1824-1840 
-1842  John  B.  Davis,  86  1818-1820 
-1856  James  Day,  94  1821-1824 
■  1834  William  Dean,  82  1810-1833 
-1899  William  Dean,  74  1844-1844 
■1853     Thorndike  Deland,  25    1828-1837 

Thorndike  Deland,  78    1828-1828 
-1880      Elizabeth  H.  Derby,  15  1844-1853 
-1831      Ezekiel  Hersey  Derby,  53 
-1844  1811-1843 

53 


John  Derby,  6 

1810-1834 

William  Eabens,  71 

1842-1847 

Samuel  G.  Derby,  51 

1810-1817 

Joseph  Farnum,  47 

1852-1861 

Julian  d'Este,  90 

1901- 

Herbert  C.  Farwell,  77 

1905-1907 

James  Devereux,  2 

1841-1848 

John  G.  Felt,  65 

1853-1860 

Humphrey  Devereux, 

57 

Joseph  B.  Felt,  83 

1817-1820 

1810-1840 

John  W.  Fenno,  93 

1821-1833 

Benjamin  Dodge,  19 

1810-1835 

Joseph  E.  Fisk,  79 

1840-1850 

John  Dodge,  64 

1812-1822 

Sylvester  P.  Fogg,  41 

1852-1857 

Joshua  Dodge,  64 

1810-1812 

Caleb  Foote,  26 

1860-1895 

Larkin  Dodge,  31 

1810-1813 

John  Forrester,  68 

1820-1835 

Pickering  Dodge,  12 

1810-1835 

Henry  Gardner,  37 

1845-1890 

Pickering  Dodge,  97 

1841-1856 

John  Gardner,  Jr.,  32 

1817-1837 

Elizabeth  A.  Downie, 

51 

6 

1843-1849 

1853-1896 

Jonathan  Gardner,  56 

1810-1822 

Andrew  Dunlap,  61 

1818-1820 

Richard  Gardner,  32 

1810-1817 

John  Dwyer,  86 

1859-1876 

Richard  Gardner, Jr., 32  1817-1840 

Theodore  Eames,  31 

1814-1817 

83  1820-1821 

Ephraim  Emerton,  94 

1831-1832 

William  F.Gardner,  56  1822-1831 

James  Emerton,  54 

1871-1878 

Thomas  P.  Gentlee,  2 

1848-1883 

Robert  Emery,  14 

1810-1820 

William  Gibbs,  30 

1810-1847 

Caroline  O.  Emmerton,  2 

Shepard  D.  Gilbert,  11 

1895- 

1903- 

Lydia  D.  Gillis,  16 

1855-1899 

Charles  M.Endicott,  36  1844-1861 

Emily  A.  Glover,  85 

1888-1889 

Samuel  Endicott,  87 

1814-1828 

Arthur  L.  Goodrich,  96  1883-1896             | 

William  C.  Endicott, 

Trustee,  2 

William  H.  Gove,  35 

1898- 

1886-1897 

George  W.  Grant,    83  1906-                     | 

William  C.  Endicott, 

15 

William  Shepard  Gray 

50 

1857-1880 

1810-1819 

Wm.  C.  Endicott,  Jr. ,  15  1893- 

William  E.  Greeley,  96  1854-1863             | 

91 1886-1897 

Alfred  Greenleaf,  45 

1828-1837 

William  P.  Endicott,  6  1849-1868 

Nathaniel  Griffen,  43 

1849-1849 

Essex  Institute,  47 

1868-1907 

Isaiah  Hacker,  28 

1817-1821 

62 

1879-1907 

William  E.  Hacker,  10 

1831-1836 

42 

1903-1907 

28 

1821-1836 

Benjamin  Eabens,  Jr., 

28 

Daniel  B.  Hagar,  35 

1878-1898 

1840-1841 

Henry  A.  Hale,  46 

1892- 

Benjamin  H.  Eabens, 

99 

Mary  S.  Hale,  34 

1904- 

1906-1907 

George  B.  Harris,  52 

1899-1902 

Francis  A.  Eabens,  28 

1841-1847 

Howard  P.  Harris,  96 

1903- 

Rebecca  C.  Eabens,  99  1907-1908      Ralph  B.  Harris,  6 

54 

1901- 

Walter  C.  Harris,  42  1907- 
N.  W.  Hassen,  84  1851- 
L.  B.  Hatch,  74  1861- 

Benjamin  H.  Hathorne,  65 

1810- 
Nathaniel  Hathorne,  73  1828- 
Nathaniel  Hawthorne,  91 

1848- 
Ralph  Gushing  Hayward,  9 

1909- 
William  P.  Hayward,  9  1881- 
Charles  H.  Higbee,  81  1866- 
62  1875- 
George  Hodges,  37  1820- 
Jonathan  Hodges,  5  1810- 
John  Hodges,  89  1852- 

Mary  O.  Hodges,  89  1882- 
Amory  Holbrook,  82  1845- 
Edward  A.  Holyoke,  18  1810- 
James  Mason  Hoppin,  71 

1853- 
1816- 
1835- 
1854- 
1820- 
1842- 
1899- 
1864- 
1883- 
1889- 
1889- 
1896- 
1838- 


Frederick  Howes,  22 
12 
William  B.  Howes,  82 
Oliver  Hubbard,  63 
Oliver  Hubbard,  16 
William  P.  Hubon,  55 
Thomas  F.  Hunt,  90 
42 
67 
85 
79 


Asahel  Huntington,  55 
Arthur  L.  Huntington,  55 

1895 
Grace  Hutchinson,  4  1894 
John  J.  Hutchinson,  72  1852 
Alpheus  Hyatt,  10  1868 

George  H.  Ingersoll,  34  1810 
Susan  Ingersoll,  37  1827 


Henry  P.  Ives,  81  1879-1879 

1868      Stephen  B.  Ives,28  1845-1846 

1885      Stephen  B.Ives,  Jr.,  64  1865-1891 

Johnjenks,  66  1810-1818 

1824      William  M.  Jelly,  60  1909- 

1839      George  R.  Jewett,  12  1899- 

Holten  B.  Jewett,  4  1907- 

1850      Edwin  Jocelyn,  4  1843-1886 

Mary  E.W.  Jocelyn,4  1886-1894 

Emery  Walter  Johnson,  31 

-1909  1907- 

-1871      Samuel  Johnson,  42  1840-1883 

-1879      Gardner  M.  Jones,  52  1894-1899 

■1827      Eleanor  B  Kimball,  50  1903-1906 

■1826     Eliphalet  Kimball,  31  1813-1814 

■1882                                   91  1818-1823 

Ruth  P.  S.  Kimball,  78  1889-1900 

-1854      Leonard  Kimball,  53  1810-1811 

-1833      Daniel  P.  King,  93  1842-1851 

Henry  F.  King,  31  1857-1904 

■1860     James  King,  48  1810-1816 

■1853     John  G.  King,  48  1816-1868 

■1835     John  Glen  King,  68  1835-1836 

■1868     John  Kinsman,  15  1853-1857 

■1822     Albert  Lackey,  43  1847  1849 

-1854      Edward  Lander,  38  1810-1828 

William  A.  Lander,  91  1840-1848 

-1899      Edward  S.  Lang,  29  1810-1835 

■1899      George  D.  Latimer,  31  1904-1907 

•1899      Charles  Lawrence,  67  1853-1856 

•1899      Osborne  Leach,  70  1897- 

•1899      William  Leavitt,  39  1840-1845 

•1895      Francis  H.  Lee,  20  1905- 

John  C.  Lee,  20  1832-1905 

•1899      George  Leeds,  80  1853-1860 

■1907      David  M.  Little,  41  1898- 

■1860      Moses  Little,  1  1810-1819 

■1874     Philip  Little,  13  1904- 

■1815      George  R.  Lord,  21  1900- 

•1829      Nathaniel  J.  Lord,  26  1829-1860 
55 


Nathaniel  J.  Lord,  21  1835-1836 
Octavius  I.  Lord,  26  1827-1829 
George  B.  Loring,  13  1865-1896 
Seth  Low,  67  1810-1813 

Elisha  Mack,  38  1828-1899 

Mary  Manning,  73         1827-1828 
Rebecca  B.  Manning,  58  1902- 
Richard  C.  Manning,  5  1866- 
Robert  Manning,  58       1871-1902 
WiUiam  Manning,  74     1820-1828 
Daniel  H.Mansfield,  60  1861-1876 
William  Mansfield,  68   1810-1820 
Wm.  P.  McMullan,  16  1906- 
Benjamin  Merrill,  1        1819-1853 
19     1835-1836 
David  Merritt,  64  1840-1843 

George  P.  Messervy,53  1886-1907 
William  S.Messervy,  53  1855-1886 
E.  C.  Millett,  28  1853-1856 

Joseph  Monds,  65  1838-1841 

John  Moriaty,  46  1828-1837 

Edward  S.  Morse,  80     1885-1886 
84     1868-1871 
Frederick  C.  Munroe,  66 

1907- 
Reuben  D.  Mussey,  22  1810-1816 
D.  A.  Neal,  69  1850-1907 

D.  A.,  W.  H.  &N.  W.  Neal,  69 

1838-1839 
Jonathan  Neal,  69  1839-1850 

Jonathan  Neal,  Jr.,  69  1810-1838 
Sarah  Neal,  53  1853-1855 

Theodore  A.  Neal,  50  1849-1858 
Ezra  F.  Newhall,  30  1868-1876 
Gilbert  G.  Newhall,  29  1840-1840 
Isaac  Newhall,  93  1818-1820 

42  1832-1836 

Sarah  Orne  Newhall, 78  1874-1889 
Andrew  Nichols,  80  1816-1853 
Benjamin  R.Nichols, 70  1810-1828 


George  Nichols,  71  1810-1827 
Henry  Nichols,  70  1826-1828 

John  H.  Nichols,  79      1852-1867 
Mary  W.  Nichols,  57    1882- 
Edward  Norris,  83  1811-1817 

William  Northey,  32      1875- 
Susan  S.  Northend,  64  1891- 
Annie  A.  Noyes,  11       1907-1909 
Daniel  P.  Noyes,  94      1841-1842 
Caleb  Oaks,  96  1828-1839 

Charles  Odell,  97  1895-1898 

Charles  H.  Odell,  50  1895-1897 
David  Oliphant,  97  1823-1826 
Benjamin  L.  Oliver,  21  1810-1835 
Benjamin  L.  Oliver,  Jr. ,  94 

1824-1826 
Grace  A.  Oliver,  50  1897-1903 
Henry  K.  Oliver,  27  1831-1843 
Josiah  Orne,  72  1810-1826 

Samuel  Orne,  10  1817-1819 

William  Orne,  10  1810-1817 

George  Osborn,  93  1833-1843 
Charles  Osgood,  29  1854-1903 
Charles  S.  Osgood,  28  1882-1907 
Elizabeth  W.  Osgood,  28 

1907- 
George  Osgood,  95        1820-1824 
George  P.  Osgood,  3     1863- 
Joseph  Osgood,  93         1851-1861 
Joseph  B.  F.  Osgood,  30 

1876- 
Robert  Osgood,  29         1903- 
Thomas  B.  Osgood,  45  1812-1818 
John  Page,  94  1832-1839 

Nathaniel  Page,  50  1819-1822 
Charles  W.  Palfray,  73  1839-1885 
William  W.  Palfray,  78  1834-1837 
John  Brooks  Parker,  50  1858-1895 
Mary  E.  Parker,  81  1907- 
DuboisD.Parmelee,  65  1860-1868 


56 


Edward  H.  Payson,  44   1828- 

Edvvard  H.  Payson,  19    1841- 

Peabody  Academy  of  Science 

2  1897-1903         11  1886- 

13  1896-1904         80  1886- 

18  1878-1904        82  1896- 

23  1896-1904        84  1871- 

33  1885-1905        91  1897- 

34  1896-1904  92  1885- 
43  1886-1906  93  1886- 
51  1896-1906  96  1896- 
59  1896-1904  97  1898- 
66  1886-1905         98  1882- 

73  1885-1906        99  1882- 

74  1885-1906  100  1882- 
Alfred  Peabody,  52  1853- 
Anna  P.  Peabody,  22  1876- 
Francis  Peabody,  59  1826- 
George  Peabody,  87  1828- 
HenryW.  Peabody,  60  1876- 
Jeremiah  Peabody,  67  1814- 
Joseph  Peabody,  36  1810- 
Joseph  A.  Peabody,  64  1832- 
Joseph  W.  Peabody,  31  1828- 
Nathaniel  Peabody,  37  1819- 
S.  Endicott  Peabody,  23  1869- 
J.  Willard  Peele,  74  1858- 
Willard  Peele,  9  1812- 
Benjamin  Peirce,  73  1810- 
Charles  W.  Peirce,  31  1844- 
Jerathmael  Peirce,  44  1810- 
Abel  L.  Peirson,  67  1820- 
E.  B.  Peirson,  45  1854- 
Edward  L.  Peirson,  45  1908- 
Edward  L.  Perkins,  64  1853- 
George  A.  Perkins,  49  1853- 
Jonathan  C.  Perkins,  51  1838- 
Nathaniel  B.  Perkins,  23 


Jairus  W.  Perry,  8 


1834- 
1857- 


1835  Lucy  W.  Perry,  8  1906- 

1850  Anna  P.  Phillips,  23       1904- 
James  Duncan  Phillips,  77 

1905  1909- 

1904  Stephen  Phillips,  85        1814-1838 

1906  Stephen  C.  PhilHps,  85  1838-1885 

1905  Stephen  W.  Phillips,  91  1906- 

1906  Willard  P.  Phillips,  93    1861-1885 

1905  George  D.  Phippen,  34  1865-1896 

1906  Walter  G.  Phippen,  68  1906- 

1903  Henry  Pickering,  26  1810-1827 
1906  JohnPickering,  Jr.,  16    1810-1827 

1904  John  Pickering,  6  1868-1901 
1906  Octavius  Pickering,  26  1827-1829 
1904  Sarah  W.  Pickering,  6  1901-1901 
1894  Benjamin  Pickman,  13  1810-1820 

Benjamin  Pickman,  Jr.,  15 
1896  1810-1844 

1899  Benjamin  Pickman,  94  1866-1878 

■  \']o'^  Dudley  L.  Pickman,  58  1810-1871 

1820  Dudley  L.  Pickman,  16  1899-1906 

1844  Francis  W.  Pickman,  95 

1840  1858-1866 

1843  Love  R.  Pickman,  13     1858-1865 

1820  Thomas  Pickman,  37     1810-1819 

1896  William  Pickman,  13     1820-1858 

1860  W.  R.  Pickman,  80       1860-1865 

1839  Nathan  Pierce,  67  1856-1889 

1827  Charles  H.  Pierce,  37    1841-1845 

1845  William  B    Pike,  91       1850-1868 

1828  Anna  P.  Pingree,  22       1858-1876 
1863  David  Pingree,  14  1899- 
1908  Harriet  E.  Pingree,  74    1906- 

Ernestus  A.  Plummer,  86 
1865  1814-1818 

86  1820-1854 

1850  Ruth  Porter,  67  1813-1814 

Frederick  G.  Pousland,  62 
1838  1907- 

1906  William  C.  Prescott,  5  1859-1866 
57 


Joseph  Price,  72  1864 

Mary  D.  Price,  82         1906 

Mary  E.  Price,  36  1906 

Richard  Price,  36  1861 

John  Prince,  Jr. ,  52        1810 

John  W.  Proctor,  72     1826 

William  Proctor,  83       1825 

Eben  Putnam,  74  1810 

37  1837 

Ebenezer  Putnam,  20  1830 

81  1833 

Francis  Putnam,  16         1841 

Fred'kW.  Putnam,  95  1866 

80  1868 

63  1872 

Rufus  Putnam,  30  1846 

94  1844 

Samuel  Putnam,  54    •      1810 

W.  H.  A.  Putnam,  63    1870 

Joseph  F.  Quinn,  59     1904 

Edith  Rantoul,  69  1907 

William  G.  Rantoul,  85  1906 

Charles  S.  Rea,  79         1899- 

Charles  W.  Richardson,  26 

1895- 
Eunice  Richardson,  50  1832- 
Frederick  P.  Richardson,  54 

1878- 
95  1907- 
31  1907- 
William  P.  Richardson,  84 

1813- 
Fred  G.  Robbins,  78  1900- 
Nathaniel  C.  Robbins,  75 

1853- 
David  Roberts,  81  1837- 

Horatio  Robinson,  47  1840- 
John  Robinson,  56  1837- 
John  Robinson,  10  1874- 
93         1885- 


Nathan  Robinson,  47      1810-1840 

John  W.  Rogers,  16      1827-1840 

Nathaniel  L.  Rogers,  29  1841-1843 

-1906      Richard  S.  Rogers,  75    1815-1843 

1847  18    1857-1878 

1846     William  J.  Rolfe,  3        1861-1863 

1828      John  Bertram  Ropes,33  1905- 

1820      BenjaminW.Russell,91  1868-1886 

-1840     William  H.  Russell, 78   1837-1874 

1832     James  O.  Safford,  7       1882-1907 

-1837      Samuel  A.  Safford,  5      1844-1859 

-1841      William  O.  Safford  and 

-1907  William  Perry,  Trustees,  7 

-1885  1907- 

-1907   Salem  Athenaeum 

-1856     9  1836-1844    53  1843-1843 

-1845    27  1843-1854    65  1847-1853 

-1835    39  1895-1897    72  1849-1852 

-1872    47  1850-1852    79  1850-1852 

52  1847-1853    94  1862-1866 

64  1843-1843    21  1836-1840 

71  1847-1853    29  1843-1854 

76  1850-1852    45  1843-1854 

90  1847-1853    51  1850-1852 

12  1836-1840    63  1850-1851 

-1849    28  1836-1840    68  1836-1840 

42  1836-1840    75  1843-1853 

-1907    50  1849-1858    89  1847-1852 

79  1837-1830 

-1907      LeverettSaltonstall,  43    1810-1847 

20    1814-1816 

-1851      Nathaniel  Saltonstall,  94  1826-1831 

Charles  Saunders,  11      1810-1815 

20      1816-1830 

-1881     John  Saunders,  75  1810-1815 

-1850      Mary  Ann  Saunders,  11  1858-1895 

■1850     Thomas  Saunders,  11     1815-1858 

■1847      Ezekiel  Savage,  55  1810-1837 

Francis  A.  Seamans,  38  1899- 
•1886     John  H.  Sears,  2  1883-1886 

58 


Joseph  Shatswell,  18 
Henry  F.  Shepard,  80 
John  D.  Shepard,  18 
Michael  Shepard,  74 
T.Osborne  Shepard,  98 
Ebenezer  Shillaber,  76 
Mary  D.  Shreve,  51 
Benjamin  H.  Silsbee,61 
Elizabeth  J.  Silsbee,  61 


1853-1857 

1865-1868 

1853-1853 

1828-1858 

1904- 

1827-1850 

1906- 

1852 

1880 


-1880 
-1904 


EHzabethW.  Silsbee,  61  1904- 


John  B.  Silsbee,  60  1854- 

John  H.  Silsbee,  21  1840- 

Nathaniel  Silsbee,  3  1810- 

Mary  Silsbee,  61  1837- 

William  Silsbee,  61  1827- 

WilliamH. Silsbee,  21  1891- 

ZachariahF.  Silsbee,  60  1827- 

Augustus  A.  Smith,  77  1855- 

Caleb  A.  Smith,  94  1839- 

Jesse  Smith,  Jr.,  62  1834- 

J.  Foster  Smith,  95  1909- 

Annie  Snell,  79  1882- 

Nicholas  T.  Snell,  79  1867- 

Edward  Southwick,  89  1819- 

Josiah  Spaulding,  14  1858- 

Thomas  Spencer,  65  1833- 

Joseph  E   Sprague,  54  1835- 

Joseph  E.  Sprague,  54  1846- 

Joseph  G.  Sprague,  37  1829- 

Joseph  G.  Sprague,  65  1841- 

Henry  S.  Stearns,  90  1899- 

William  Stearns,  81  1810- 

Arthur  R.  Stone,  66  1885- 

John  Stone,  2  1824- 

John  H.  Stone,  45  1854- 

Robert  Stone,  70  1828- 

Joseph  Story,  49  1810- 

Gilbert  L.  Streeter,  81  1879- 

Harry  Sutton,  65  1908- 

Larkin  Thorndike,  12  1840- 


1857 
1891 
1850 
1852 
1837 
1900 
1854 
1857 
1841 
1875 

1896 
1882 
I  HI 
1899 
1838 
1839 
1853 
1831 
1847 
1901 
1833 
1886 
1841 
1854 
1897 
1831 
1907 

1871 


George  Torrey,  83  1828-1829 

Rosina  C.  Towne,  83  1899-1906 

Moses  Townsend,  76  1810-1827 

Ephraim  Treadwell,  90  1815-1818 

John  D.  Treadwell,  17  1810-1858 

JohnW.Treadwell,42  1817-1831 

Walter  H.Trumbull, 67  1899-1909 

Benjamin  Tucker,  83  1829-1836 

Gideon  Tucker,  35  1810-1861 

Jonathan  Tucker,  35  1861-1878 

Ichabod  Tucker,  77  1810-1855 

42  1835-1836 

79  1836-1836 

83  1836-1844 

Samuel  Tucker,  14  1820-1858 

Charles  W.Upham,  56  1853-1876 

William  P.  Upham,  56  1876-1908 

Luther  Upton,  19  1840-1842 

Robert  Upton,  71  1827-1835 

Roger  Upton,  85  1899-1906 

Roger  Upton,  94  1907- 

Samuel  Upton,  78  1810-1828 

George  F.  Very,  53  1907- 

Nathaniel  A.  Very,  50  1906- 

Washington  Very,  51  1852-1853 

MarthaP.Walcott,  19  1856-1882 

Samuel  B.Walcott,  19  1850-1856 

SamuelP.Walcott,  19  1882-1890 

Thomas  WalHs,  16  1854-1855 

John  Walsh,  78  1828-1834 

George  A.  Ward,  93  1820-1821 

Joshua  H.  Ward,  57  1840-1853 

Mrs.  Joshua  Ward,  57  1853-1882 

Joseph  C.  Ward,  61  1823-1827 

Malthus  A.  Ward,  65  1824-1833 

William  Ward,  9  1810-1812 

Henry  Wardwell,  19  1890- 

Benjamin  P.  Ware,  66  1856-1885 

James  D.  Waters,  40  1886-1907 

John  G.  Waters,  81  1853-1866 


59 


Joseph  Waters,  40  1810-1836 
Joseph  G.  Waters,  24  1830-1880 
Joseph  Linton  Waters,  24 

1880-1907 
Mary  Devereux  Waters,  24 

1907- 
Mary  E.  Waters,  27      1906-1908 
Richard  P.  Waters,  27     1854-1906 
Sarah  J.  Waters,  27        1908- 
William  C.  Waters,  40  1886-1907 
Willaim  C.  Waters,  Jr.,  40 

1907- 
William  D.  Waters,  40  1837-1886 
Jonathan  Webb,  34  1827-1834 
Samuel  Webb,  Jr.,  34  1817-1826 
34  1834-1865 
Stephen  Webb,  92  1818-1853 

Stephen  P.  Webb,  28     1835-1836 
Arthur  W.  West,  1        1897- 
George  West,  28  1847-1853 

George  West,  73  1906- 

Nathaniel  West,  7  1810-1853 

Nathaniel  West,  Jr. ,  79  1814-1830 
Thomas  B.  West,  71  1836-1842 
Wilham  H.  West,  79  1833-1836 
Eliza  Wetmore,  10  1819-1820 
Ann  Maria  Wheatland,  88 

1893- 
George  Wheatland,  88   1827-185  (f 
88  1855-1857 
Henry  Wheatland,  88    1854-1855 
97    1856-1895 
46    1870-1891 
94    1878-1907 
Trustee,  77    1868-1886 
Mary  K.  Wheatland,  84  1905- 
Richard  Wheatland,  88  1815-1827 
Richard  Wheatland,  87  1899- 


Richard  Henry  Wheatland,  28 

1860-1865 
Stephen  G.  Wheatland,  88 

1857-1893 
Ebenezer  Wheelwright,  94 

1843-1844 
Augustus  W.  Whipple,  71 

1835-1836 
Edwin  P.  Whipple,  71  1843-1843 
Henry  Whipple,  34  1815-1817 
94  1845-1862 
Jonathan  Whipple,  56  1849-1853 
Solomon  S.  Whipple,  91 

1826-1840 
Alden  P.  White,  39  1897- 
Daniel  A.  White,  10  1820-1841 
95  1819-1820 
26  1860-1860 
Henry  White,  Jr.,  42  1810-1817 
John  White,  79  1810-1814 

Joseph  White,  Jr.,  25    1810-1828 
Stephen  White,  23  1810-1833 

John  S.  Williams,  96     1839-1854 
John  S.  Williams,  80     1904- 
Henry  L.  Williams,  28    1856-1860 
Tucker  D .  Williams,  93  1906- 
Lemuel  Willis,  56  1834-1837 

Edmund  B.  Willson,  15  1880-1893 
25  1880-1906 
Lucy  B.  Willson,  25      1906 
John  Winn,  Jr.,  45        1818-1828 
John  Winn,  45  1837-1843 

Oliver  A.  Woodbury, 94  1842-1843 
Jonathan  F.  Worcester,  46 

1837-1879 
Joseph  E.  Worcester,  31 

1817-1828 


60 


Some  interesting  facts  are  to  be  found  in  this  list  of  proprietors. 
In  the  first  place,  two  shares  have  been  in  the  same  families  for  the 
entire  hundred  years.  Share  Forty,  originally  in  the  name  of 
Joseph  Waters,  is  now  held  by  his  great  grandson,  William  C. 
Waters,  Jr. ;  and  Share  Sixty-nine,  issued  to  Jonathan  Neal,  Jr.  in 
1810,  is  now  owned  by  his  great  granddaughter,  Miss  Edith 
Rantoul. 

In  distinguished  names  the  list  is  exceptional.  Three  stand  out 
conspicuously:  Hawthorne  in  literature,  Bowditch  in  science,  and 
Story  in  the  law.  But  there  are  other  names  in  the  list  having 
more  than  local  distinction.  John  Pickering,  a  founder  and  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  trustees  from  1810  to  1827, — and  a  most  active 
one, — was  an  eminent  linguist,  philologist,  and  Classical  scholar. 
Joseph  E.  Worcester,  the  lexicographer,  a  teacher  in  Salem  for  a 
time  in  his  early  years,  was  a  proprietor  from  1817  to  1826. 
Benjamin  W.  Crowninshield,  Secretary  of  the  Navy  under  Presi- 
ident  Madison,  was  one  of  the  original  proprietors;  and  Rufus 
Choate,  famous  as  lawyer,  pleader,  and  orator,  was  a  shareholder 
from  1831  to  1838.  Two  who  were  proprietors  in  the  early  years 
of  the  Athenaeum  subsequently  held  important  library  positions: 
Benjamin  Peirce,  (father  of  the  celebrated  mathematician  and 
Harvard  professor  of  the  same  name),  a  proprietor  from  1810  to 
1827,  was  librarian  of  Harvard  College  from  1827  to  1831;  and 
Seth  Bass,  a  proprietor  from  1815  to  1826,  was  from  1825  to  1846 
the  librarian  of  the  Boston  Athenaeum.  William  J.  Rolfe,  the 
Shakespearian  scholar  and  editor,  who,  like  Dr.  Worcester,  was  a 
teacher  in  Salem  in  his  early  years,  was  a  proprietor  from  1861  to 
1863.  In  science  Alpheus  Hyatt  and  Frederick  W.  Putnam  have 
held  high  places,  the  former  as  curator  of  the  Boston  Society  of 
Natural  History  and  professor  of  Zoology  at  the  Massachusetts 
Institute  of  Technology  and  Boston  University,  and  the  latter  as 
professor  of  Anthropology  and  Ethnology  at  Harvard.  It  will  be 
noticed  that  Hawthorne  when  first  a  proprietor  spelled  his  name  in 
the  old  family  form, — Hathorne. 

An  interesting  fact  of  still  another  sort  has  been  discovered  in 
compiling  this  list.      It  is  that  Dr.  Mack,  who  was  a  trustee  from 

61 


1853  to  1886  and  president  from  1874  to  1886,  never  had  a  share 
in  his  own  name.  Share  Thirty-eight  stood  in  Dr.  Mack's 
father's  name,  Elisha  Mack,  from  1828  to  1899,  and  was  never 
transferred  to  the  son.  When,  in  1899,  this  share  emerged  from 
the  estate  of  Thomas  F.  Hunt,  it  created  considerable  perplexity. 
Mr.  Hunt  had  paid  the  assessment  on  it  as  long  as  anyone  then 
connected  with  the  Athenaeum  could  rememberj  the  certificate  had 
been  lost;  and  in  the  stock  book,  which  runs  back  to  1835,  there 
was  no  entry  whatever  of  a  transfer  of  Share  Thirty-eight.  The 
matter  has  been  cleared  up,  and  the  above-mentioned  curious  fact 
discovered,  by  aid  of  the  Treasurer's  book  covering  the  years  from 
1810  to  1875.  In  1899  this  book  was  in  a  fireproof  room  of  the 
Essex  Institute  for  safe  keeping,  and  its  existence  was  then  unknown 
to  the  Athenaeum  authorities.  It  has  been  indispensible  in  making 
the  list  of  early  proprietors. 

A  further  examination  of  the  list  of  proprietors  and  officers 
shows  that  there  is  another  instance  of  a  person  serving  as  an 
officer  without  having  a  share  in  his  own  name, — Dr.  Henry 
Wheatland,  in  his  early  connection  with  the  institution.  Though 
a  trustee  from  1845  and  clerk  of  the  proprietors  for  forty-five  years 
beginning  with  1846,  his  name  does  not  appear  as  a  stockholder 
earlier  than  1854.  Apparently  the  manner  of  conducting  the 
Athenaeum  as  a  corporation  was  in  those  days  as  informal  as  that 
of  using  its  rooms  and  books,  described  on  page  15.  Dr.  Mack 
and  Dr.  Wheatland,  it  should  be  noted,  were  connected  with  the 
management  of  the  Library  and  served  as  officers  longer  than  any 
other  persons  in  its  entire  history. 


62 


ACT  OF  INCORPORATION 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  MASSACHUSETTS 

In  the  Tear  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ten. 

AN  ACT  TO  INCORPORATE  CERTAIN  PERSONS  BY  THE  NAME  OF 
"the  SALEM  ATHEN^UM." 

Section  i.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
in  General  Court  assembled,  and  by  authority  of  the  same.  That  Edward 
Augustus  Holyoke,  William  Orne,  Moses  Little,  John  D.  Tread- 
well,  John  Pickering,  jun.,  Benjamin  L.  Oliver,  Leverett  Salton- 
stall,  Nathaniel  Silsbee,  and  Samuel  Putman,  together  with  all  other 
persons  who  are  or  shall  become  members  of  the  said  Association, 
be,  and  they  hereby  are,  incoroporated  by  the  name  of  The  Pro- 
prietors of  the  Salem  Atheneeum,  and  by  that  name  may  sue  and  be 
sued,  plead  and  be  impleaded,  defend  and  be  defended,  in  all  or 
any  courts  of  law,  and  elsewhere,  in  all  manner  of  actions,  pleas, 
and  controversies  whatsoever;  and  in  their  said  corporate  capacity, 
and  by  their  said  name,  they  and  their  successors  shall  be  capable 
in  law  to  purchase,  receive,  have,  hold,  take,  possess,  and  enjoy, 
in  fee-simple  or  otherwise,  lands,  tenements,  rents,  and  heredita- 
ments, not  exceeding  in  the  whole  the  yearly  value  of  two  thousand 
dollars,  exclusive  of  the  building  or  buildings  which  may  be  actually 
occupied  or  used  for  literary  purposes.  And  the  said  Corporation 
and  their  successors  shall  be  capable  of  taking,  receiving,  and  hold- 
ing, by  donation,  subscription,  bequest  or  otherwise,  money,  goods, 
chattels,  effects,  and  credits,  to  an  amount,  the  yearly  value  of 
which  shall  not  exceed  three  thousand  dollars,  exclusive  of  their 
books,  so  that  the  estate  aforesaid  shall  be  appropriated  for  the  pro- 
motion of  literature,  of  the  arts  and  sciences,  and  not  otherwise. 
And  the  said  Corporation  and  their  successors  shall  have  power  to 
give,  grant,  sell,  alien,  convey,  exchange,  or  lease,  any  part  of  their 
lands,  tenements,  or  other  property,  for  the  benefit  and  advantage 
of  said  Corporation. 

63 


Sect.  2.  Be  it  further  enacted.  That  the  said  Corporation  may 
have  a  common  seal  for  their  use  and  benefit,  with  full  power  to 
alter,  change,  or  renew  it  when  they  shall  think  the  same  expedient. 

Sect.  3.  Be  it  further  enacted.  That  the  said  Corporation  shall 
have  power  to  determine  when  and  where  their  meetings  shall  be 
holden,  and  the  manner  of  notifying  and  calling  the  same  ;  and 
power  to  choose  such  officers,  with  such  powers  as  they  shall  judge 
expedient;  and  to  make  By-Laws  for  the  due  government  of  said 
Corporation,  and  for  the  due  and  orderly  conducting  the  affairs 
thereof,  and  for  and  concerning  all  matters  and  things  relating  to 
said  Corporation,  and  the  same  at  pleasure  to  alter  and  amend,  or 
repeal.  Provided,  however,  that  the  powers  vested  in  their  said 
officers,  and  the  said  By-Laws,  shall  not  be  repugnant  to  the  Con- 
stitution and  Laws  of  this  Commonwealth. 

Sect.  4.  Be  it  further  enacted.  That  the  proprietors  of  said  Cor- 
poration shall  have  the  power  to  impose  suitable  fines,  not  exceed- 
ing five  dollars,  for  the  non-fulfilment  or  breach  of  the  same  By- 
Laws.  And  the  said  Corporation  shall  have  a  suitable  remedy,  by 
action,  to  recover  such  fines  in  any  court  of  law  proper  to  try  the 
same. 

Sect.  5.  Be  it  further  enacted,  That  whenever  any  proprietor 
shall  neglect  or  refuse  to  pay  any  assessment  duly  imposed  upon  his 
share  or  shares  in  said  Corporation,  for  the  space  of  sixty  days  after 
the  time  set  for  the  payment  thereof,  the  Treasurer  of  said  Cor- 
poration is  hereby  authorized  to  sell  at  public  vendue  the  share  or 
shares  of  such  delinquent  proprietor,  after  duly  notifying,  in  some 
newspaper  printed  in  the  town  of  Salem,  the  sum  due  on  such  share 
or  shares,  and  the  time  and  place  of  sale,  at  least  thirty  days  before 
the  time  of  sale;  and  such  sale  shall  be  a  sufficient  transfer  of  the 
share  or  shares  so  sold  to  the  purchaser;  and,  upon  producing  a 
certificate  of  such  sale  from  the  Treasurer,  such  purchaser  shall  be 
entitled  to  a  transfer  of  the  share  or  shares  so  sold,  on  the  books 
of  the  Corporation,  and  shall  be  considered  to  all  intents  and  pur- 
poses the  proprietor  thereof;  and  the  overplus  of  such  sale,  if  any 
there  be,  after  payment  of  such  assessment  and  incidental  charges, 
shall  be  paid  on  demand,  by  such  Treasurer,  to  the  person  whose 
share  or  shares  were  sold,  as  before  provided. 

Sect.  6.  Be  it  further  enacted.  That  Edward  Augustus  Holyoke, 
64 


William  Orne,  Nathaniel  Silsbee,  and  Samuel  Putman,  or  any 
three  of  the  same,  shall  have  power  to  call  the  first  meeting  of  said 
proprietors,  by  advertising  the  same,  three  weeks  successively  be- 
fore the  time  of  such  meeting,  in  some  newspaper  printed  in  the 
town  of  Salem;  and  that,  at  the  same  meeting,  the  said  proprietors 
may  proceed  to  execute  any  or  all  the  powers  vested  in  them  by  this 
act. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives,  March  5,  1810 
This  Bill,  having  had  three  several  readings,  passed  to  be  enacted. 

Timothy  Bigelow,  Speaker. 

In  Senate,  March  6,  1810. 
This  Bill,  having  had  two  several  readings,   passed  to  be  enacted. 

H.  G.  Otis,  President. 

Approved,  March  6,  1810.  C.  GORE 

Secretary's  Office,  March  12,  1810. 

A  true  copy  of  the  original  Act. 

William  Tudor,  Secretary  of  State. 


65 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

A  list  of  the  chief  sources  used  in  the  preparation  of  this 
book. 

Records  of  the  Proprietors,  1810-1910. 

Records  of  the  Trustees,  1810-1910. 

(Two  books:     1810-1868;     1868-1910.) 

Treasurer's  Records,  1810-1875;   1889-1910. 

(One  volume;    1810-1875;   filed  reports,  1889-1910. ) 

Catalogues;   1811;   1818;   1824;   1836;   1842;   1858. 

Librarian's  Reports. 

Proceedings  at  the  dedication  of  Plummer  Hall  and 
a  Memoir  of  the  Plummer  family,  1857. 

List  of  Books  missing  from  the  Library,  1839. 

The  Salem  Lyceum,   1830-1879;   Henry  K.  Oliver, 
1879. 

Historical  Sketch  of  Salem ;  Charles  S.  Osgood  and 
H.  M.  Batchelder,  1879. 

Circular  of  Information  regarding  the  Athensum, 
1890. 

Address  at  the  dedication  of  Plummer  Hall,  1907. 


67 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LIBRAHT  SCHOOL  L                4li^ 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 

Renewed  books  are  subjea  to  immediate  recall. 

NOV  2  1  195S 

f^0V'17tS53' 

FEB  2  4  1963 

NUV2  9  1966 

General  Library 
LD  21-50»w-8,'57                                  University  of  California 
(,C8481sl0)476                                                   Berkeley 

U.C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 

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